Right Step Smart Residential Living uncategorized

How to Compost Organic Waste: 5 Easy Steps (Outdoors)

Do you know? – About one-fourth of our regular household waste can actually be recycled into rich compost, which serves as an excellent natural fertilizer for your garden plants and soil.

This means we can recycle & reuse a portion of our everyday household trash all by ourselves, and considerably bring down waste sent to landfills in only Five Easy Steps. (Find out How You Can Build a Compost Bin at home)

Learn how:

How to Compost Organic Waste-01(2)Takeaway: “Layer, Water & Turn” – This is essentially all your composting routine comprises of!

Your garden compost will be ready-for-use in 3 to 4 months. This compost, which is high in nitrogen, can be used to enrich your garden soil or to improve your yard plants’ overall health.

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Product Updates uncategorized

Expense Management now has a new, fresh look!

Managing apartment finances is a tedious task, and we strive to make it easy for you. To help you manage your apartment expenses better, we have revamped the Expense Management module of Money Manager.

What’s changed?

  • Clean and intuitive interface to add expenses
  • Attach files to expenses for future reference
  • Simplified addition and management of service tax on expenses

What’s new?

You can now print vouchers and receipts for your expenses in a single click. This has been one of the most demanded features for Expense Management.

And finally, posting multiple Expenses within Money Manage is no more time-consuming – simply upload all expenses in one go! Download the Excel template, follow the instructions mentioned and fill up the Expenses’ details. That’s all!

Bulk Upload Expenses

We are working on more such improvements in the Expense Management module. Keep watching this space for updates! Send your suggestions and views to cf-groups-help@commonfloor.com.

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Right Step Smart Residential Living uncategorized

How to Build a Simple Compost Bin – DIY

The first and foremost item you need when you decide to start composting is a compost bin. Good news is that you CAN easily build one yourself without putting much effort or money into it. (If you are an energetic pro-green individual, you may want to check our article on How You can Compost Organic Waste in just 5 Easy Steps.)

This article will guide you in making your own bin in about an hour using readily available items.

Aim: To build a bin that is budget-friendly, durable & adds to your home’s/yard’s aesthetic appeal.

** Your bin material should not be chemically treated.

1)      Trash Can Composter

Steps:

i)  Drill rows of holes on its upright surfaces, with holes placed 4-6 inches apart.

ii)  Puncture a few holes on the can’s base and lid as well. (This helps in air flow and the passage of extra moisture)

iii)  Secure the can using a bungee cord/rope and use duct tape to attach it tightly. (to keep it safe from pests)

The same ‘can’ becomes a Tumbler Composter when it’s cylindrical in shape. Roll it around in your yard once or twice a week to mix properly.

01(1)

2)      Wire-Mesh Composter

Steps:

i)  Take a roll of wire-mesh and cut it to the size you need.

ii)  Use a pair of pliers to cut off wire bits sticking out. Make the surface as even as possible to avoid any abrasion or cut.

iii)  Roll the wire-mesh piece into a cylindrical shape.

iv)  Secure the two joining edges of the roll with a wire.

**Use working gloves while setting this up.

02(1)

3)      Wooden Panel Composter

Step:

i)  Make a four-sided box (of dimension= 3ftx3ftx3ft) by fixing together four wooden pallets using nails or wire.

ii)  You may choose to add another pallet as the box’s base to allow more air flow.

        ** Spaces between the box’s wooden slats provide air circulation.

03(1)

4)      Stick Fence Composter

Steps:

i)  Fix a wooden post on each corner of a square area (dimension=3ftx3ft) in your garden/yard.

ii)  Use wires to attach the stick fence to wooden posts along the marked square’s perimeter. (take the help of pliers)

iii)  Secure both ends of the fence using wire ties.

** Spaces between the box’s wooden slates provide air circulation.

04(1)

5)      Little Kitchen-Composter

Steps:

i)  Pick an ice-cream box, coffee/gum/paint container to use as your compost bin. Make sure its lid can be fixed tightly.

ii)  Drill enough holes (10 or more) on the lid of the container to allow air movement.

iii)  Stick a charcoal filter on the inner side of the lid (to keep container free of odor)

05(1)

If you are a step ahead of us and have built yourself a unique and more effective kind of compost bin, we’re excited to learn from you! Please share your creative ideas with us!

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Smart Residential Living uncategorized

BBMP notifies new fine on non-compliance with set Garbage Rules

 

BBMP notifies to apartment complexes to manage their garbage all by their own.

BBMP notifies to apartment complexes to manage their waste/ garbage by themselves

According to a BBMP notification last year, apartment complexes with more than 50 units must take care of all the waste they generate (above 10 kgs) by themselves. This civic body recently announced that an amount of Rs.25,000 – Rs.50,000 will be charged in case of any non-compliance with stipulated rules.

The BBMP regulation has two sections:

1) Apartment residents are required to segregate generated waste (dry, wet, sanitary, inert and garden) and put each variety into a separate container.

2) Wet waste and garden waste must be composted using biomethanization techniques. If an apartment complex has limited space, residents should entrust private organizations empanelled by BBMP with the task.

Also, Sanitary/hazardous waste is to be sent to nearest bio-medical waste collection centre for their careful and proper disposal. (Bio-Medical Waste Rules, 1998)

Though residents have no qualms about following the first rule, when it comes to the other, general problems faced by apartments are:

  • Space Constraint
  • Lack of Time
  • High Maintenance Amount
  • Lack of Technical Know-How

With this new steep penalty system in picture, apartment dwellers across Bangalore are now questioning the need to pay the yearly garbage cess levied by BBMP, if the body offers absolutely no help in managing waste generated. Many apartment communities have received a legal notice in the past few days citing the BBMP statement.

A resident of RMV Cluster said, “BBMP slapped us with a massive penalty of 2.6 lakhs which seems ridiculous, and we will soon be taking this matter to court. If they want us to do everything on our own, we need good reasons to why we should pay the BBMP tax.”

Another vexed apartment resident voiced, “Unfortunately, we don’t have enough space to set up a machine in our complex and will not be able to comply with these new regulations. Besides, as regular tax payers, aren’t we entitled to waste management services of the BBMP?”

Do you believe this new BBMP penalty is justified, or just another headache left for us to deal with?

Share your thoughts with us!

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Product Updates uncategorized

Latest App Updates Now Out for iOS Users

Mobile2The latest set of CommonFlooor Groups app updates is now available to iOS users. The primary integrations are- push notification and personal message feature improvements and a brand new addition-Buy & Sell.

Let’s take a quick look at the upgrades:

1)      New Buy Sell classifieds section will help you buy/sell used articles within your community.

2)      You’ll now receive push notifications that are instant and configurable.

3)      Personal messages page got revamped!

To read in details about these updates, click here.

Visit the Apple store and download the update now!

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