local management of waste
     - State Bank of India: An example
Most corporate offices remain indifferent to the large quantities of waste they generate every day. More than 60% of this waste is in fact recyclable. Unfortunately even this waste is put into dumpsites

The State Bank of India however is a good example of a corporate entity taking full responsibility for the waste it generates.

Its offices are housed in a scenic 7 acre campus on St.Marks Road. There are in all 5 buildings with around 1000 staff and 2 canteens which cook meals for the staff.

In addition there is also a guest house and the residences of the various General Managers.





Waste Generated
The waste generated within the premises is of two categories

1. Dry waste which consists of a substantial amount of paper, some plastic cups, carton boxes etc...(around 30-45kgs a day)
2. Organic waste which includes food waste generated in the canteens as well as enormous quantity of leaves from the garden (around 50 kgs a day).

Currently more than 80% of this waste is managed locally ie on its premises.   A simple composting unit takes care of all the organic waste generated in the canteens. All leaves are put into a leaf shed where they are slowly converted to mulch.

This compost and mulch is then used again for the gardens within the campus.

A composting unit was set up to compost the organic waste. Saahas together with Dr Balasubrahmanyan (from SHOW) who has  done extensive research on the subject put in place the required infrastructure for the composting unit at a cost of Rs 2.5 lakhs.

The process used is described as aerobic composting. Here organic waste is converted to compost or manure by microorganisms which grow in the presence of air/oxygen. A blower is used to force air into the waste stacks to ensure that there is sufficient air available at all times for proper growth of the microbes. This also ensures that no smell whatsoever emanates from the waste.

The waste from food waste drained out daily in the form of a leachate. This leachate is in itself a   good plant nutrient when diluted and can be used for the plants.

Compost is generated every 40-50 days. Currently we are able to generate enough compost to meet the entire needs of the SBI campus.

In addition we also convert the leaves generated on campus into compost. This SBI generates a large quantity of leaves, the surplus compost amounting to 1 tonne a month is sold to professional landscapers.

Through our work in SBI we have demonstrated that local management of waste is the way forward for all generators of solid waste in the city. This includes apartment complexes, educational institutions, commercial enterprises and corporate offices