GENERAL INFORMATION:

1. What do you mean by waste segregation?

Waste segregation basically means keeping wet, dry and sanitary/reject waste separately, so that dry can be recycled, wet waste can be composted and sanitary waste can be incinerated.

2. Why should I do it?

• So that it reduces waste that gets land filled and reduces pollution to air and water.
• So that different processes- composting, recycling, incineration can be applied to different kinds of waste.

3. How do I practice waste management at home?

Use separate containers for wet, dry and reject waste in the kitchen.

• Keep plastic from the kitchen clean and dry and drop into the dry waste bin.
• Keep glass/plastic containers rinsed of food matter.
• Send wet and reject/Sanitary waste out of the home daily. Store and send dry waste out of the home, once a week.
• Keep a paper bag for throwing the sanitary waste.

4. What colour coding do I follow?

• Green bin - Compostable waste (Do not use plastic liner)
• Red bin - Reject/Sanitary waste (Do not use plastic liner)
• Blue Reusable Dry waste bag - Recyclable waste

5. How often will my waste be collected?

• Wet and Sanitary/Reject Waste – Daily (Collected by the Housekeeping staff)
• Dry Waste – weekly (weekend)

6. I see my neighbour not segregating. What can I do?

Please feel free to remind them gently :) Please report to Housekeeping staff / Supervisors if this is repeated.

7. What happens when I have a party?

You and your guests will still need to segregate the waste. Try not to use disposable plates / cups and cutlery. Arecanut plates are good since they can be composted if you want to use disposable plates.

8. What if I don't segregate since I don't care about the environment and I don't have kids?

Do it for your neighbors’ kids, do it for yourself and also you will have to pay a fine if you don't comply.

9. My maid didn't do it right?

Please train your maid and show different type of waste in the pamphlet and bins / bag.

INFORMATION ON DRY WASTE:

1. What is Dry Waste?

Paper, plastics, metal, glass, rubber, thermocol, Styrofoam, fabric, leather, rexine, wood –anything that can be kept for an extended period without decomposing.

2. Will Dry waste smell if I store it for a week?

Not if it is clean and dry. Make sure that plastic sachets of milk, curds, oil, idli batter, any food item, are cleaned of all their contents and dried before being put in the dry waste bag. Then they will never stink.

3. Will I have cockroach, rats and flies problems?

Only if any food residue or organic matter is present in the dry waste. Clean dry waste will not attract any vermin.

4. How do I store pizza and cake boxes?

Clean the pizza or cake boxes of all food residue – with a wet kitchen cloth, or rinse them quickly in water and let them dry out before putting them in the dry waste container.

5. How do I store pickle, sauce bottles?

Sauce bottles should be rinsed thoroughly with water. Pickle bottles need to be cleaned with soap and water, as they contain oil. Basically, no food residue must be left in the bottles. Clean them as you would to reuse them.

6. What do I do with milk packets, dosa packets, and yoghurt containers?

Clean them thoroughly. Open out the milk, yoghurt and dosa batter packets completely at one end, and wash out all the residue. They can be put to wash with the dishes in the sink, then dried,and put into the dry waste bag.

7. Do I have to rinse the plastics bags/containers?

Yes, any plastic containing any food has to be rinsed, or washed with soap and water if required, before being put into the dry waste bag.

8. Should I rinse my juice containers/ tetra packs?

Yes, otherwise ants will be attracted to the sugar in the juice.

9. Will my biscuit/bread packet attract ants? How do I store them?

Make sure all the bread / biscuit crumbs are shaken out of the packet, so they do not attract ants.If the biscuits are too oily, the packet may need to be washed with soap and water.

10. What do I do with old clothes/ shoes/ handbags/belts/toys?

If they are still in usable condition, they should be given to some organization that collects them. If they are totally unusable, or very damaged, they are still categorized as dry waste.

11. What do I do with old bed linen/ mattress/ pillows etc?

Same as above

12. What do I do with my old furniture/ broken glass table?

Old furniture can be recycled, if not, along with broken glass it can be handed over separately to Dry Waste Collection Centres.

13. What do I do with old crockery / non-stick pans etc?

If they are not broken, they are recyclable dry waste.

14. What do I do with my old taps/ broken sanitary ware?

Old taps – recyclable dry waste. Broken sanitary ware – debris or rubbish (inerts).

15. What is the best method of storing Dry Waste?

Store it in a bag/bin in the utility area after cleaning and drying till it is picked up.

16. What is e-waste?

E-waste or electronic waste consists of batteries, computer parts, wires, electrical equipment of any kind, electrical and electronic toys, remotes, watches, cellphones, as well as bulbs, tube lights and CFLs. Hand over with Dry Waste.

17. How do I store E-Waste?

Store them in separate container which is kept closed, away from moisture and in which nothing else is put. Hand over with Dry Waste .

INFORMATION ON SANITARY/REJECT WASTE:

1. What is Sanitary/Reject waste?

This includes used menstrual cloths, sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, bandages and any material that is contaminated with blood or other body fluids.

2. How do I dispose sanitary pads and diapers?

They should be wrapped in a newspaper, marked with a red cross, and given everyday in a red bin to the housekeeping staff.

3. How do I dispose expired medicines/ injections/condoms/soiled cotton?

Expired medicines and injections, used syringes come under household hazardous wastes. They should be stored in a red bin and handed over daily. Condoms, soiled cotton, etc come under sanitary waste – they should be wrapped in a newspaper, marked with a red cross.

4. Is my razor considered as biomedical waste?

It is household hazardous waste, like used syringes, etc.

5. What do I do with waxing strips?

Used waxing strips are sanitary waste - they should be wrapped in a newspaper, marked with a red cross, and given everyday to the housekeeping staff.

6. What are hazardous wastes?

HHW (House Holding Waste) or household hazardous wastes include–toxic substances such as paints, cleaning agents, solvents, insecticides and their containers, other chemicals; and biomedical wastes like used syringes, expired medicines, thermometers, used cosmetics etc.

7. How do I dispose human hair/nails?

Sanitary waste. Wrap in a newspaper, mark with a red cross, and give everyday to the housekeeping staff.

8. I have just painted my room. How do I dispose half used paint cans?

They come under HHW or household hazardous wastes. They should be stored and handed over separately.

9. What do I do with my old brooms/ floor cleaning cloths/ Dry mops/ bathroom cleaning brush?

Bathroom cleaning brush is sanitary/reject waste.

10. If clothes are soiled with body fluids, they become sanitary/reject waste.

If they are soiled with paint, or any chemicals, they are HHW (household hazardous waste).

11. Under what category do I place cosmetics?

They come under HHW or household hazardous wastes. They should be stored separate from other categories of waste and given to the BBMP along with sanitary waste.

12. What about pesticides, cleaning solutions, mosquito repellents?

Same as above.

INFORMATION ON WET WASTE:

1. What is wet waste?

Wet waste consists of kitchen waste - including vegetable and fruit peels and pieces, tea leaves,coffee grounds, eggshells, bones and entrails, fish scales, as well as cooked food (both veg and non-veg).

2. If I don’t use a plastic liner, how do I dispose my food waste in the bin?

Before the advent of the bin liner, we would all put our garbage directly in the bin, and wash it everyday. That is what we will have to do now. The bin can be lined with a newspaper liner or a layer of sawdust if you don’t want to put the wet waste directly into it.

3. How do I dispose dog poop? In case of loose motions, what is the best way to dispose it?

Wrap in a newspaper, mark with a red cross, and give everyday to the housekeeping staff along with wet waste. In case the dog or cat has loose motions, do the same with the cloth used to mop up the liquid poop.

4. What do I do with garden waste?

Garden waste will be collected by the housekeeping staff or can be dropped off at the organic converter room for composting.