The Karnataka government plans to make GPS tracking mandatory for all waste-collection vehicles in Bengaluru to improve transparency and accountability, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on September 24. The system will allow authorities to verify vehicle routes, roads covered and operating times. Bengaluru generates around 6,500 tonnes of waste a day, against a collection capacity of about 5,200 tonnes. The existing system includes around 5,200 auto-tippers, each with an average capacity of about 1 tonne, but the city’s population, households and waste generation have grown substantially. The government is reorganising the collection network by dividing the existing 27 assembly constituencies into 33 packages. Vehicles with capacities of 2 and 3 tonnes will be introduced, taking overall transportation capacity to around 9,000 tonnes a day. Around 4,500 vehicles are expected to operate under the new system. Byre Gowda said the objective was to ensure that waste was collected, segregated, transported and processed through a traceable system. He said roadside dumping created garbage blackspots and could affect storm-water drains and other civic infrastructure. Residents have been advised to keep segregated waste near their compound or in suitable containers if they are not at home when collection vehicles arrive. Bengaluru has around 50,000 bulk waste generators, but only around 2,000 have arrangements with authorised vendors. The minister said waste from other bulk generators was sometimes entering the household collection network, adding around 1,000 tonnes a day. Around 2,100 tonnes of segregated wet waste is being sent for processing, while landfill-bound waste has declined from about 4,000 tonnes to 2,500 tonnes. The Greater Bengaluru Authority has cleared around 142,000 tonnes of construction and accumulated waste, while the Bengaluru Development Authority has removed 80,000 tonnes of old waste. Recommendations from five stakeholder groups will be tested over the next three to four months.