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Prepared by: Association for Stimulating Know-

how (ASK) V- 29/11A, DLF - III,

Gurgaon-122002, Haryana Tel: 0124-4060353-354

Fax: 0124-4060355 www.askindia.org

Project Implemented by:

RWA H-Block DLF Phase-1 & M/S Green Bandhu

Supported by

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ORGANIC COMPOSTING UNIT AT G & H-BLOCK DLF PHASE-1, GURUGRAM

Draft Report

11 June 2018

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1. About the Project

DLF Foundation under its Swachh Haryana Campaign had installed a Solid Waste Management (SWM) composting unit at H-Block DLF Phase-1 in 2015 with the help of M/S Green Bandhu. The objective was to manage the green waste generated from kitchen and horticulture and promote source segregation and prevent dumping/burning of organic solid waste. The main beneficiaries of the project were 300+ households of the society living in plotted area buildings and managed by local H-Block DLF Phase-1 Resident Welfare Association (RWA) through its duly elected members.

On the request of RWA of H-Block DLF Phase-1, DLF Foundation provided financial support in establishing the SWM Unit at Champa road through purchase of required machineries, cycle carts, infrastructure and salaries for initially one year for 3 persons (work force). As per records, an amount of Rs. 1, 05,000.00 was paid as salary for the staff during September 2017 to 31st March 2018. In addition to Operation & Maintenance of composting unit, the Green Bandhu was given the task to collect the segregated kitchen waste from door to door and fallen leaves from the green belt and parks, which they have been doing so for the last 1 to 1.5 years. Initially, they had some problems of collection of segregated organic waste through door to door collection, for which few NGOs came forward to help the RWA, but later backed out. RWA is implementing the project with the help of Service Provider i.e. M/S Green Bandhu.

Now, DLF Foundation has requested for an Impact Assessment of the said unit (in operational phase) to look into Environmental and Social aspects, with following objectives:

To assess the impact of the project on the people/area.

To ascertain changes required in program design and make recommendations on the continuity / scalability/pruning/closure of the project.

Figure 1: Composting SWM Unit at G & H-Block DLF Phase-1, Gurugram

2. Impact Assessment Overview

In view of above objectives, a visit was made at Solid Waste Management (SWM) Composting Unit at Champa Road, H-Block DLF Phase-1 during 2nd – 4th May 2018 and subsequent interactions was held with stakeholders for discussions and clarifications. The evaluation was

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participatory in nature and comprised of interviews and discussions with the following stakeholders:

The SWM Unit project staff of M/S Green Bandhu. RWA President and Secretary, H-Block DLF Phase-1 Concerned person from DLF Foundation

The findings from this impact assessment have been discussed in the following sections.

3. Approach & Methodology

The project assessment was done through physical site visits to the site, interaction & discussion with the staff & other members of the service provider i.e. Green Bandhu, accessing to documents/records maintained for the SWM Unit and M/S Green Bandhu interaction with RWA and DLF Foundation’s management persons. The data sources were direct interaction, data record books, minutes of the meetings between RWA, DLF Foundation and other stakeholders along with proposals/SOPs as produced by DLF Foundation in consultation with RWA and other stakeholders. The challenge lies ahead is running of the existing project smoothly and sustainably by the RWA through the help of NGO/Service provider with continued financial support from DLF Foundation.

4. Background of the Project

Composting is one of the best methods of converting organic wastes into nutrient rich food material for the plants. It is an excellent recycling activity of waste disposal through which unsafe organic waste turns into safe compost, which can act as supplement for soil enrichment and maintain soil health. Composts are mostly used in organic farming and gardening activities. Following are the salient features of Composting unit of Organic Solid Waste Management plant at H-Block DLF Phase-1:

This is one of the Pilot Projects tested in a residential society with the wholehearted

support of the H-Block DLF Phase-1 Resident Welfare Association along its 300 members.

The project is part of larger objective of greening Gurugram through DLF’s Gurgaon Rejuvenation Project, under which such decentralized small composting units will help in management of organic solid wastes at local level and avoiding waste to be sent to land fill sites.

The main beneficiary and stakeholder i.e. H and G-Block society generates around 150 to 300 kg of organic waste and 4-5 cycle carts of fallen leaves and cuttings per day depending on seasons, which is collected for processing at SWM unit for composting.

Recently, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were jointly developed by DLF Foundation in consultation with different stakeholders like RWA, DLF Estate, DLF Foundation, Waste collection Contractor and Composting Service Provider (Green Bandhu), with clear cut responsibilities and commitments. The residents, through their RWA are kept informed about various duties & commitments, who in turn agree to help in its implementations.

5. Effectiveness of the Project

5.1. Areas of Strength

The composting solid waste management unit, established in 2015 was assessed for following indicators/possible impacts and its compliance:

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Table 1: Areas of Strength: Effectiveness

Possible impacts

Indicators Status Comments

Environmental & Health

Noise

No The unit is enclosed in a closed area, away from residential houses. Although, crusher/ shredder makes some sound, which is not disturbing to the residents/outside area.

Safeguards for workers well being and health

Yes Workers handling waste use Mask and Gloves as observed

Spills or leaks of fuel & oil No Electricity used for operating machines, so no spills

Dust generation during dry compost

No Mostly wet organic material, so no dust generation

Release of Methane/ Eutrophication etc

No Since it is non-aerobic activity, so no methane release

Social aspects Socially acceptable to beneficiaries / stakeholders

Yes RWA and Residents have accepted it an environment friendly activity.

Community (residents/stakeholders) participation and involvement in the project

Yes Composting unit is actively supported by the residents / stakeholders through RWA and DLF Foundation.

Empowering local communities/user group/consumer association

Yes Local communities and user group support exists; Compost is locally purchased by consumers directly from plant.

Upliftment of workers status and dignity

Yes Waste handlers have been upgraded to waste collectors, technical operators thus finding dignity in the job and respect in the society

Economics & Sustainability

Accountability in regular upkeep of expenses

Yes Finances are regularly monitored by RWA members & M/S Green Bandhu

Legislative Does project follow environmental standards & regulations?

Yes It adheres to the environmental norms and regulations as small composting unit.

5.2. Areas of Concern The areas of concerns pertaining to effectiveness of the project have been elaborated below:

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Table 2: Areas of Concern

Possible impacts

Indicators Status Comments

Environmental & Health

Offensive odour during active composting/ attract flies?/insects/ rodents etc.

Mild Bearable odour of organic kitchen waste during operation. During visit flies and insects were not found near shredded organic matter but scope of improvement in cordoning off the area from rodents/insects/ (flies) etc.

Any leachate / Seepage Mild water coming out of shredder was directly drained out to sewer, which may lead to leachate/seepage.

Economics & Sustainability

Cost recovery of project revenues viable and sustainable

No Since, it’s a small pilot unit, which needs to operate to its full capacity for recovering cost in long run. It requires financial support for running its Operation & Maintenance activities along with the salary for the staff.

Does project have access to financial loans from other sources in addition to DLF Foundation or Residents?

No The RWA and DLF Foundation need to reach out to Banks, Government departments, Corporate and Development agencies to procure funds for its sustainability.

Does project have a viable business model & plan

No Need to work on this by the stakeholders to make it viable.

Other Areas of Concern:

As per data collated from monthly waste & audit reports, it was observed that on an average organic waste availability varies from 60 kg to 120 kg per day (Jan-July 2017) (Fig. 2), which produces between 300 to 600 kg of dry compost costing between Rs. 4,500 to 9,000 per month @Rs.15/kg of compost. Looking at the capacity of the unit (of processing 300 kg waste per day), the volume of the compost was low and is thus seen as an area of concern.

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Figure 2: Raw Org Waste & Compost generation at H-Block DLF Phase-1, Gurugram

The organic waste when processed in shredder (Fig. 3) separates solid material and water from two different outlets. The water is currently drained out directly in sewer (which is an area of concern) and the solid organic waste is put in the curing box for aerobic processing through microbial activity, with perfectly maintained C:N ratio through enzyme spray etc for compost making.

As shared by the RWA president, the residents have accepted the importance of project as one of the cost-effective means to keep their area clean, but more sustained efforts are needed from them to keep this project viable for long term.

The SOPs are yet to be fully endorsed and accepted by various stakeholders for implementation.

The project although socially acceptable, has not been able to generate much needed support from the G & H-Block residents in providing segregated organic waste, which is prime need for efficient running of the SWM.

6. Impact of the project on people/area 6.1. Areas of Strength As per objective of the assessment, impact of the project on the people/area was evaluated, which shows following observations:

The project has helped in sensitizing people on effective organic waste management and its importance in keeping area clean. The project was unanimously accepted by the people and had great social acceptability due to realization of importance of waste management and the ease of its location i.e. being very close to society.

The residents are effectively helping in delivering segregated organic waste (almost 70%) to the waste collectors, presently employed through M/S Green Bandhu for bringing it to SWM Unit for composting.

The project has also helped in generating better livelihood options for the garbage collectors. For instance the plant operator worked as a garbage collector who has been

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trained in operating the SWM machineries. The operator has also provided at-site training to three other garbage collectors in past three months.

The composting unit is able to process around 3000 kg of organic waste per month based on supply, and producing 500 kg of compost per month, which is sold at a price ranging from 10 to 15 rupees per kg.

Figure 3: Shredder & Crusher at SWM Unit at H-Block DLF Phase-1, Gurugram

The project has effectively sensitized the larger community and stakeholders towards solid waste management especially organic wastes. The Residents Welfare Association (RWA) has wholeheartedly and actively supported the programme by providing land near their society.

RWA has been able to mobilize support from DLF Foundation and corporate for the establishment and successfully running the organic compost unit in a cost effective manner through support of NGOs.

6.2. Areas of Improvement

For the project to have long term and enhanced impact, the areas requiring improvement are as follows: a. Raw material for composting: Regularity and consistency in supply of Organic waste to

the composting plant is at present quite less i.e. only 3000kg/month in spite of its capacity to handle 300kg raw organic waste per day. The organic waste from not only G & H-Block DLF-1 RWA but from other adjoining areas can be procured to generate more compost for running the plant to full capacity and have better earning from sale of dry compost.

b. Waste water treatment: The waste water from shredder is presently discharged directly in Sewer, which needs to be stopped. The water can be collected in septic tanks and treated for its reuse in gardening, watering activities in parks, green belts etc.

c. Sustained effort is needed from the residents and the RWA in owning the unit and coming

forward to support it.

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d. To make this decentralised unit effective and successful, residents have to provide funding on long-term and regular basis and look to this project as a Mission for Swachhata Abhiyaan contribution, which have larger benefits at national and regional level.

7. Key Recommendations / Suggestions

The Composting SWM Unit needs to be looked more from ecological and environmental benefits, rather than economic benefits, which is possible with its scalability and larger availability of raw organic solid wastes. Following are the recommendations as emerged out from impact assessment and discussions with the key stakeholders

The Composting SWM unit at H-Block DLF Phase-1 needs financial support for its effective long time operation & maintenance. This support should be looked from larger environmental benefits accruing to the local residents, the city and the society. DLF Foundation, RWA and other corporate needs to pool a core fund for running the facility and meet its O & M cost, monthly salary and other expenses.

The composting SWM facility should be popularised for use as training, awareness and skill development centre for school/college students, RWA members, interested citizens through on-site demonstration and training. Linking this unit with Swachhata Mission of Government of India will help in fetching some funds from Ministry.

The liquid waste coming out of shredder should be collected and treated before releasing it to the sewer, which is the practice at present. The treated water can be efficiently used for gardening the parks, green belts, embankments etc, thus reducing the usage of potable water.

RWA of H-Block DLF Phase-1 should employ/train people for owning and handling the composting unit before withdrawal of vendor/service provider. Also, RWA needs to raise awareness amongst its residents for long term and committed participation in segregating their organic waste at their home for giving to door to door waste collector.

There is need to tie-up with various other small composting unit of SWM in the area through a network of de-centralised composting plants and establish partnership with stakeholders/communities and buyers. Existing H-Block DLF Phase-1 unit has potential to upgrade to its full potential of addition 6000kg/month producing 1000kg compost for more income and sustainability.

In addition to the composing activity, additional income generating activities like establishment of nursery/vertical gardens should be permitted and revenue can be generated through sale of plants and training imparted to gardeners.

8. Conclusion The project has effectively met its objective as pilot composting unit in providing local benefits to the people and area. The residents and other stakeholders have become aware about their role and role of this unit in solid waste management especially in handling the organic waste and turning it into useful compost. The project, though three years old still needs financial support for O &M through DLF Foundation and active contributions from the residents of H-Block DLF Phase-1, for which RWA has to play a pro-active role in sensitization and awareness building among stakeholders. The project has scope of scalability if regular and un-interrupted supply of organic waste is assured and its ownership taken up by residents through trained and dedicated staff. The project has overall, helped/will help in generating following local benefits: Rejuvenating depleted soils through organic composts, and replacing it with fertilizers.

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Reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emission especially Methane by preventing organic wastes going to landfill sites and helping municipalities in reducing SWM cost.

The organic compost will help in promoting organic farming, thus enhancing food security. Communities owning the project will have a sense of pride and improvement in their quality

of life due to clean environment and proper waste management. Reducing health hazards of local residents through improved and clean environment. Dignity of job to involved workers and reducing poverty through livelihood opportunities.

9. Photographs

A Compost Box Dedicated team of composting unit

Packed Compost for sale Cycle cart for dry biomass collection