Embassy REIT Inaugurates EcoHub, An Integrated Waste Management Centre In Bengaluru Benefitting 4000 Households
Embassy REIT, in partnership with The Anonymous Indian Charitable Trust (TAICT) and the Bettahalasuru Panchayat, today inaugurated EcoHub, an integrated solid waste management centre in the presence of Shri Krishna Byre Gowda, Honourable MLA – Byatarayanapura in North Bengaluru. The project was built under Embassy REIT’s flagship waste management initiative ‘EcoGram’ and will benefit around 4000 households across 10 villages.
The project will be instrumental in providing decentralised, sustainable solid waste management services to the Bettahalasuru Panchayat as well as large commercial establishments in North Bangalore. It has also created employment and livelihood opportunities through waste stream management.
Sri Krishna Byre Gowda, Honourable MLA – Byatarayanapura, said, “Since 2016, Embassy and TAICT have been committed to creating a sustainable model Gram Panchayat in North Bangalore. Developing solutions to tackle the issue of waste is critical. This new integrated waste collection centre will go a long way towards promoting a more sustainable waste management system, benefitting 10 villages in the Bettahalasuru Panchayat. We hope that this model can be replicated through Bangalore, making the city brighter, cleaner, and more engaged.”
Shaina Ganapathy, Head of Community Outreach, Embassy Group, said, “EcoGram has become a benchmark in developing a sustainable model that can act as a blueprint for corporates looking to partner with the Gram Panchayat to create sustainable waste management solutions. Thanks to the awareness efforts carried out by TAICT, the Panchayat has already reached a segregation level of around 85% for households and 92% for bulk generators. Our aim is to continue building processes and infrastructure that catalyse communities and enable us to have a wider impact.”
Myriam Shankar, Managing Trustee, The Anonymous Indian Charitable Trust, said, “We are very grateful to Embassy REIT, our CSR partner who has supported us throughout this journey. Instead of dumping waste indiscriminately, we are now processing close to 3 tonnes a day segregated into 42 categories of dry waste and composting the organic waste to give it back to farmers rather than polluting our land indefinitely. With this facility, 90% of the waste generated can now be turned into resources, whereas disposal previously posed a serious health risk. The EcoHub is also a place where people who work with waste can do this safely and with dignity, and Hasirudala Innovations was a natural partner for operations, as their mission is to achieve this.”
To encourage responsible waste management practices in and around its business parks, Embassy REIT rolled out EcoGram in 2016, in partnership with TAICT. EcoGram aims to create a model Gram Panchayat by building processes and infrastructure for sustainable decentralised waste management, enhancing the soil quality and water conservation to strengthen the foundations of responsible growth by bringing together community members, local governments, and government school children. Prior to EcoGram’s project and initiatives, debris from around 2500 waste generators (at the rate of 53 metric tons per month) were being dumped and burnt, causing air, water, and soil pollution.