Urban women set to get lessons on composting

Hyderabad: In its efforts to encourage women in composting of waste in their houses in towns, the Municipal Administration Department has asked its commissioners to involve members of Self-help Groups(SHG), Town Level Federation (TLF) in the process.

The SGH women will be trained in home composting and they would be assigned at least 500 households in their locality so that they can in turn educate other households through simple home composting techniques and ensure that home composting is being done in the said assigned households. The aim is to increase the participation of people in the composting system, according to a senior official. The TLF personnel would be given training by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). The SHG women would procure fertilizers and also fix a rate for the fertiliser produced organically and would be certified by the Municipal Commissioners concerned.

According to the officials in the department, the aim of the programme is to encourage the composting of the waste generated in the individual households in towns. The department has entrusted the responsibility of creating awareness among people to the MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas).

The MEPMA officials would explain how composting at home is a controlled system, and how faster decomposition of organics such as food waste a household can generate. Microorganisms break down this material into compost, a nutrient-rich product that can be used as a soil amendment in yards, gardens, flower beds and potted plants. It can improve the soil, prevent erosion, reduce the use of fertiliser and water, save natural resources and money as well as decrease the amount of waste the households generate.

As per the guidelines issued, green coloured bins should be used for kitchen waste. Similarly, blue bins should be used for newspapers, card boards, packaging materials, plastic bottles and others. The official said that composting is a biochemical process and the organic waste gets converted into compost fertiliser. The primary ingredients needed are browns, greens, air and water. With inclusion of these four items, the microorganisms get carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The households would be divided into separate categories like individual households, apartments etc, the official said.