Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) won’t pick up wet waste of large housing societies with an area of more than 20,000 square metres and generating 100kg of wet waste daily with effect from October 1, 2017. The civic body wants these societies to install wet waste recycling machine inside their premises itself to tackle the growing menace of garbage. Thus large housing societies won’t have any respite this time as they will have to comply with the norms issued by the civic body. They have three months left to begin garbage segregation and recycling process. Despite repeated reminders housing societies have failed to segregate wet and dry waste. Later, BMC acted tough and issued notice to housing societies, restaurants and offices located in south Mumbai and suburbs that it won’t pick up garbage if they failed to segregate wet and dry waste from June 1.
BMC has asked all the wards to prepare a data of how much garbage is generated daily, its segregation and recycling process and forward a report to it on August 1. The civic body will soon draft a policy on disposal of dry waste in the city. BMC has also asked solid waste department to offer technical assistance to wards for proper waste segregation.
Harshit Joshi, a Kandivali resident said, “The BMC’s new directive pertaining to waste management is a step in the right direction. Often housing societies have not followed the waste segregation norms issued by the society. Already huge tonnes of waste are generated in the city and there is lack of space to dispose garbage.”
At present only 40 per cent of the housing societies are carrying out waste segregation activities and the civic body wants others to fall in line.
“Even though it’s a tough task to ask citizens to comply with the norms but a begging has to be made. More awareness must be created among people about waste segregation,” said Satish More a Borivali resident.
Waste is picked up from the municipal markets thrice daily. BMC had also instructed vendors to dispose waste in designated areas only. Since large amount of waste is being generated in market places hence the waste recycle machine will be installed there too. Recurring fires at Deonar dumping ground has forced the BMC to act tough against housing societies and business establishments to follow waste segregation norms. The civic body had issued circulars of waste segregation in 2012 but it failed to click due to lack of vehicles for wet and dry waste segregation.
Mumbai generates close to 9,500 metric tonnes of waste everyday, of which around 3,000 metric tonnes of waste is treated scientifically at the Kanjurmarg dumping ground. The civic body is in the process of acquiring land at Taloja and Airoli on which waste can be processed.
