In an attempt to bring down the amount of waste generated in Mumbai the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has chalked out strategies to encourage residents for practising segregation of waste in their society premises.
In order to hold a dialogue with the citizens regarding this matter, civic officials of the K West (W) ward had called for a meeting with representatives of local housing societies in their area.
The KW ward covers the areas of Andheri West, Juhu, Vile Parle and Oshiwara which has a significant number of high rises. Civic officials informed, on an average each housing society produces around 500 kgs of waste regularly. The local ward office has also identified a number of buildings as 'Bulk Waste Generators'.
"Many societies have open spaces in their premises so our motto is to encourage these buildings so they can start composting their wastes at their own" said a senior official of the SWM department.
The official informed, during the lockdown many societies had set up their own infrastructure for segregating and composting wastes however now that things have returned back to normalcy, the priorities of residents have also changed.
"If residents start composting their own waste it would be an added bonus for them as they could convert them into fertilisers and manures and use them in the gardens" the official added.
On an average, the city generates 10,000 metric tonne of waste daily. The civic officials informed, owing to the rise in air pollution, the BMC is working on reducing the daily amount used taken to dumping grounds by a significant margin.
Officials informed representatives from nearly 30 housing societies and residential buildings had participated in the meeting.
"The civic body is aiming to conduct a public and administration partnership to make efficient use of waste generation. This could be a good idea if civic officials stay on the same page" said Dhaval Shah, director and spokesperson - Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association (LOCA). More than 500 residential buildings in the K West area are affiliated under LOCA.
