Waste to compost: Community in Bishop Garden shows the way

Here is an apartment that has taken a leaf out of other communities but adapted to suit its reality. That is the inspiring composting journey of Grayshott Apartment at Bishop Garden Extension in Raja Annamalai Puram. For close to a year, a group of green enthusiasts in this 110-flat society were studying different composting systems followed by other communities that had set benchmarks in this area.

“We visited Jains Saagarika in MRC Nagar, Ashiana Apartments in Venus Colony, Ceebros Boulevard in Thoraipakkam, Thiruvengadam Street in Mandaveli and IIT-Madras to study different models to finally settle for cement tank composting, which was both sustainable and economical,” says Usha Kumar, an active member of GoGreen, the group started in 2017 that drives environment-friendly initiatives in the apartment.

While a small group of residents studied the pros and cons in vermicomposting, khamba composter and aerobic digester, they also started composting the waste generated from their kitchens in their homes.

“We started experimenting in our balconies. For instance, I bought a MyGreen bin to gain a first hand experience of composting,” says Usha.

In 2019, the community spent ₹60,000 to invest in a cement tank, partitioned into four layers to accommodate bio-degradable waste with cow dung as the microbe.

The kitchen waste is dumped in the compost pit with thin layers of cow dung and neem leaves on top. This process was repeated till the pit was filled up to three fourths of its capacity. After 45 days, they got compost, which was sieved to get fine “black gold”.

The composting journey was not without its initial hiccups.

“A section of residents complained about foul smell from the set-up and our analysis found that a certain kind of dung contributed to it. So we switched to native cow dung which made a big difference. We get this from Vriksha in RA Puram who has a few native cows,” says Usha, a member of Solid Waste Management Group of Chennai.

When the composting initiatives of many apartment complexes took a hiatus during the pandemic, Grayshott Apartment took a break by only for a couple of months.

Today the community has integrated in situ composting into its workaday life and it generates 100-150 kilos of compost every month, which is used for the garden needs of the society. The surplus is given to neighbouring apartments and those who seek compost.

Since the new committee took over, the compost tank has received a facelift. It was moved to a corner with design suggestions given by the GoGreen team.

“We also took the feedback of the housekeeping staff as they were the people responsible for managing the yard,” says Rakesh Keswani, secretary, Grayshott Owners Association.

How does the society ensure compliance from every stakeholder in the community?

“We are planning awareness campaigns involving children. Many young mothers have been active and we are sure to get their support as well,” says Rakesh.

Besides dry waste, the committee has also initiated e-waste collection. “The bins are located near the security gates and we have also asked the guards to make sure the house maids drop them in the correct bin,” adds Rakesh.

The green team acknowledges the guidance of P. Natarajan of Namma Ooru Foundation, Balasubramanian of Thiruvengadam Street, Chandrasekhar of Grayshott, and Solid Waste Management Group of Chennai.

Major K.S. Mani, former president, says water conservation and waste management are a few challenges that apartment communities face and when residents come together to find solutions in the early stages it sets the ball rolling for other initiatives as well. “With the help of the Rain Centre we dug two open wells, which is a big boon for the community as it supplements the supply from the Metrowater. We do not buy water anymore,” says Major Mani, acknowledging the support he received from residents.