Indore: For effective garbage management in the city, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has decided to encourage people for segregation of waste at source.
Mayor Malini Gaud said that the IMC officials have been told to sensitize people about importance of segregation of waste at source.
“We have also requested public representatives, including coporators and legislators, to encourage people of their respective constituencies to collect soaked and dry waste in separate polythene bags before the IMC vehicles reach their house to pick up garbage,” she said.
The IMC has pressed more than 400 four-wheelers in the task of collecting waste door-to-door in all 85 wards of the city.
These vehicles have provisions for storing dry and soaked waste separately.
“We want an effective garbage management in the city and that can’t be done until bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste is segregated at source,” the Mayor said.
She stated that if 100 per cent of segregation of waste is done at the source a lot of time and energy could be saved in doing so at trenching ground at Devguradia.
If segregation of solid waste is done at source then biodegradable waste could be processed separately and converted into manure and electricity while the plastic waste can be used separately for making paver tiles and other materials.
The IMC has already announced multiple uses of garbage dumped at trenching ground. While it is converting waste into manure, the IMC has planned to set up a power plant that would generate 19 unit of electricity from waste. Besides, it has decided to convert non-biodegradable waste into paver tiles and use the same at developing gardens at two government lands.
“To achieve 100 per cent segregation of waste at the source, the IMC needs to educate people, especially in backward areas,” said social worker Amit Sharma.
Ban on holidays for bill collectors
IMC has put a month-long ban on holidays of assistant revenue officers and bill collectors of IMC for collection of user charges from people issued bills of door-to-door garbage collection. Additional municipal commissioner Devendra Singh carried out review of bill collections done so far. He expressed annoyance over slow recovery and suspended holidays of officials roped in for the task of collecting charges. The IMC has issued bills to those wards where door-to-door garbage collection was started in October and November. The IMC is charging Rs 2 from each household and Rs 3 a day from commercial buildings.
What they say
Only door-to-door waste collection won’t help in developing an effective garbage management system. The IMC’s initiative to educate people about segregation of waste at source is a welcome move. The civic body should also penalise people found littering in open even when garbage bin is placed nearby.
Arpita Patel, College Teacher
Municipal authorities are trying to develop an effective garbage management system in the city. But people should also contribute by not littering in open. They should own responsibility for all the garbage lying on roadsides and colonies. An effective garbage management system can’t be developed until residents contribute handsomely.
Vaibhav Bhatnagar, Advocate
Penalty is the only option to deal with garbage problem in the city. Like open defecation, penalty should also be levied on dumping of garbage in open. All the developed countries do that. We should also follow the suit. When there will be fear of fine, people will stop littering in open.
Satish Sharma, Businessman
Though municipal authorities have taken a measures to ensure garbage collection at the very door-step, in absence of regular trash pick-ups on daily basis this scheme is not yielding desired results. IMC should ensure that sanitation workers do not take their work casually and that garbage bins are placed every nook and corner of the city.
Nitin Agrawal, Professional
Behavioral change can make a lot of difference. People are in the habit of dumping garbage in open even if there is a bin nearby. This habit could be changed only by educating people especially in backward areas. Municipal authorities need to develop a garbage management system that can impact behavioural change at source.
Raja Jain, Contractor
