Mangaluru: Achieving huge success after undertaking the Swacch Bharath Abhiyan over the last five years, the volunteers of Ramakrishna Mission is planning to venture into another novel initiative in order to find a solution to wet waste management problem. As a first step of this initiative, volunteers of the Abhiyan have initiated a start-up to work for the cause of a ‘Swach Bharath’ under the guidance of the Ramakrishna Mission.

Informing about the pot-composting method, Swami Ekagamyanandaji of Ramakrishna Mission said, on Tuesday, February 11, that instead of spending a huge amount to install waste handing units in apartments, hotel, hostels and other commercial buildings, people can opt for the pot-composting method.

As per the plan, the start-up will provide three mud pots worth Rs 2,000 to each house of an apartment. Along with these three pots, the Mission will also provide two wet waste dumping buckets worth Rs 200. Houses need to put their wet waste into the bucket and an employee of the start-up will visit that particular apartment every day and put the wet waste into the pot and handle the waste properly, ensuring that it turns into manure. There is no need for much space to keep the pots and the people can even utilise the space of their car parking also.

In return, the start-up will collect a nominal fee of Rs 5 per day for handing the waste. The payment of Rs 150 per month per house will be collected by the start-up through the apartment’s association. Even though the start would never collect a fee for this waste handling unit, it will collect Rs 1000 from every house as a deposit which will be refunded after three years of service.

The manure produced by the pot-composting unit will be taken by the start-up employees. If a particular house wants to take manure themselves, they can get it by paying just Rs 200 as maintenance charge.

Those who want to obtain this service should sign an agreement, which urges them not to discontinue the service for the next three years.

Meanwhile, Ekagamyanadaji informed that the start-up will collect only wet waste and that there is also a plan to collect dry waste from the houses, which will be materialised in the coming days. “These pot-composting units have been started in two apartments in the city and it will be extended to all apartments soon. We request the cooperation of the public to make this plan a success,” he added.

Start-up directors Dilraj Alva and Sachin Shetty were present.