Plastic garbage burned in Banjarpalya field

By Mattia Michielan

Plastic waste discarded by a private firm in Yelachanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore is regularly dumped and burned on an unused field in the village of Banjarapalya.

Burning such waste produces toxic emissions such as dioxins and particulate matter and contaminates water.

 

Repeated phone calls to the print firm went unanswered, as did an email requesting clarification about its waste disposal method.

Dr. R. Lakshminarayana, regional officer of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) said after inspecting the site that the blame for the situation should not to be attributed to the print firm, but to the entity  responsible for disposing of the trash, which is “indiscriminately dumped and burned” in fields.

 “That is our relatives’ land,” said C. Premkumar, owner of a neighboring plot, pointing to the land next to the dump site. “They are causing a lot of problems in the area, but they have political power, and so we can’t do anything.”

Having collected samples of material to be burned and the identification number of the trucks that dumped it, which was written on a torn receipt found close to the spot where the rubbish was being burned, Lakshminarayana said the site would be immediately cleaned and that “waste will no longer be dumped and burned here. Everything will be taken care of by the KSPCB immediately.” 

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