Hyderabad: Saket residents see vermicomposting as effective means of waste management

Hyderabad: The residents of Saket located in Secunderabad have taken an admirable initiative to tackle the problem of waste management. They have recognized vermicomposting as the only sustainable solution and are actively working towards developing their own compost from trash and dry leaves. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has also recognized their efforts by providing them with an apprehension certificate.

The idea of generating compost in the colonies was floated by GHMC last year, and the residents of Saket adopted this idea and planned to develop compost from dry leaves. The colony members were advised to collect all kinds of fallen leaves from their backyards and store them in bags. The practice of converting waste into organic manure was initiated last year in September, and around 10 compost pits of 8*4 ft were set up in the open plot to generate manure. A private sanitation worker was appointed to collect the dry leaves from 800 houses every month, and then the leaves were thrown into the pits, after which cow dung was added, says G Srinivas Rao, president of the Saket Welfare Association.

Out of 10 pits, two pits have already started generating compost, and once all the pits start generating manure, it will be handed over to colony members at minimal cost. This compost will also be used in colony parks. The colony has hired a rickshaw that goes door to door to collect these bags of dry leaves once every month.

Apart from setting an example for other residential colonies, the residents of Saket are also doing an awareness campaign through social media platforms, encouraging other colonies to adopt this concept. Recently, they were appreciated by GHMC for their initiatives, and the benefits of using compost were explained. Dried leaves act as organic manure and are extremely useful for plants. Every day, numerous dried leaves fall in the colonies, and instead of burning or throwing them away, they can be used as plant fertilizer. Even individuals in rural areas produce manure from dry leaves and use it on plants. It would be better if people in urban areas also start using organic manure made up of dry leaves and waste instead of using chemical fertilizers, said another resident of Saket.