‘Pipe’ man from Shivamogga makes Karnataka clean and proud

BENGALURU: A retired paper mill manager from Shivamogga has won the Swachh Survekshan-2018 award in the citizen participation category for converting kitchen waste into manure using a PVC pipe.
T S Mahadevaswamy, 64, a resident of Vinobanagar 3rd Main, believes that efficient disposal of wet waste is key to ensuring total waste management and keeping the environment clean.That was the compelling idea behind his pipe compost technology.

“I began using this method two years ago,” Mahadevaswamy said. “People are always disgusted with waste, but don’t want to take care of it. All that people need to implement this process is a length of PVC pipe, cow dung, jaggery and water. One kilogram of kitchen waste gets converted into 100gm of manure and it only costs Rs 600-700 to get hold of the materials.”
In the first stage, a six-foot length of PVC pipe (six inches wide) is inserted 1.5 feet into the ground. This will keep it at a suitable height for the average adult. One kilogram of cow dung diluted with 10-15 litres of water, and the kilogram of jaggery needs to be mixed together and poured into the pipe. Under the ground, it activates bacterial growth. From the next day, kitchen waste can be dumped daily into the pipe and a mug of water added every week.
“Every two to three months, poke a stick into the pipe,” Mahadevaswamy said. “If it comes out wet, the process is active. If not, pour the mixture of cow dung, water and jaggery once again. It is, however, a time consuming process as it takes eight months to a year to generate manure. I got the manure tested at a lab and the results showed that it is rich in calcium, phosphorous and other nutrients. People’s waste should be dealt with in their homes.”
After finding success with his method, Mahadevaswamy established the pipe compost system in the homes of the deputy commissioner, CEO of the zilla panchayat and the corporation commissioner. He is also a Swachch Bharat mission coordinator for the city.
Bengaluru not in toppers’ list
Mysuru has been regarded as the ‘cleanest city’ in the three to 10 lakh population category, according to the Swachh Survekshan-2018 survey conducted by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. Mangaluru bagged the award for being “the best city in solid waste management”. The survey covered 4,041 cities and their urban local bodies (ULB) and the parameters for cleanest city included collection and transportation of waste, processing and disposal of waste, sanitation and open defecation free among others. While Indore (Madhya Pradesh) was declared the cleanest city in the country, followed by Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and Chandigarh, Greater Mumbai (Maharashtra) took the title of cleanest capital city/union territory followed by Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Ranchi (Jharkhand). Bengaluru has failed to find a spot in the list of top clean cities.