216 S. GALAB, S. SUDHAKAR REDDYAND AND ISA BAUD
mately 10 tons of organic waste per day and the cattle slaughterhouses about 20 tons
of solid waste. Organic waste from these slaughterhouses is collected by MCH. These
slaughterhouses face the problem of water clogging because of the huge accumulation
of waste.
Waste from households, the second type of generator, is collected by private as well
as MCH workers Servants take edible leftovers, and the rest of the organic waste is put
in the dustbins. In the collection system of the Municipality there is no separation of
wet and dry waste. In some areas where the tricycle collection scheme exists, residen-
tial welfare associations and NGOs/CBOs use the waste collected for vermicom-
posting, neighbourhood composting and backyard composting^6. The main bulk of the
household waste collected by MCH and private workers goes to the dumpsites.
10.3. RE-USING AND RECYCLING ORGANIC WASTE
There have been many and varied initiatives to reuse and recycle organic waste mate-
rials, but their outputs have been mixed. Among the bulk generators, there is a sizeable
number of generators who promote reuse through private sector channels (fee figure
above). These initiatives remain outside the purview of the municipal waste stream,
and are based on economic feasibility of the re-sale of waste materials.
There have also been several attempts to carry out large-scale public sector
composting over the years More recently, several initiatives have been undertaken to
promote decentralised composting through alliances between local government and
NGOs, based on the use of both household and bulk generator organic waste (such as
the Fruit Market where SPEQL undertook activities; see later sections and chapter 11).
The mixed organic waste generated by households has been incorporated in both types
of composting processes.
Large-scale public sector composting
Composting of municipal waste has recently become topical through the new rules
issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which mandate composting as a
way to reduce waste levels at dumpsites (India, 2000). The Municipal Corporation of
Hyderabad was involved in initiatives to use solid waste for composting since the late
1950s. Early attempts foundered by the end of 1960s, due to high prices of the compost
(Snel, 1997). Again in 1977, a large-scale mechanical compost plant was established
in cooperation with NEERI, which was later leased to a private company. It stopped
in 1986, as the plant failed to maintain demand for its product in comparison with cow
dung being sold, which also had a higher nitrogen content than the compost.
- These initiatives will be discussed later in this chapter.