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Solid Waste Management

Concern over poor waste management

Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:56 administrator
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The Hindu 12.07.2009

Concern over poor waste management

Correspondent

CUTTACK: Poor disposal of biomedical wastes (BMW) generated from the hospitals and nursing homes has again come up for hearing in the Orissa High Court and this time the HC after taking strong exceptions to the issue has issued show-cause notices to all government and private teaching hospitals of the State.

Adjudicating over a PIL filed by a Cuttack-based voluntary organisation -- Maitree Sansad, and after going through the report of the state pollution control board (SPCB), a bench of the HC comprising Justice Laxmikanta Mohapatra and Justice Indrajit Mohanty on Friday expressed grave concern over the unscientific manner in which the biomedical wastes generated from the hospitals are disposed.

“The government is not adhering to the norms and methods of disposal of these wastes as enshrined in the provisions of the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules-1998 thereby posing a threat not only to the patients of the hospitals but to all others too”, alleges the petitioner advocate Ajay Mohanty, who is also the secretary of the voluntary organisation.

Hearing the petition, the HC had directed the SPCB to conduct an enquiry and submit a report stating what steps have been taken in this regard by the three government medical college hospitals in State including the Capital Hospital and nursing homes of twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

The SPCB in its report has mentioned that the provisions of the statutory rules are violated by the teaching hospitals as well as private hospitals of the twin city. “No effective measure had been taken by the hospitals to prevent pollution and infectious diseases from spreading due to poor disposal of biomedical wastes. Shocked over such a report, the bench issued show-cause notices to all hospitals and has fixed August 21 for next hearing.

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:58
 

Wanted: land to dispose waste

Friday, 10 July 2009 12:07 administrator
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The Hindu 10.07.2009

Wanted: land to dispose waste

Staff Reporter

Heaps of half-burnt garbage may have catastrophic effect on the environment

 

Most of the 12 municipalities in the district facing the problem

In Tenali, the small area of 6.7 acres is hardly enough to dump waste

GUNTUR: A drive down the GBC Road towards Chirala through Bapatla will not pass without the revolting sight of heaps of garbage lying on the road side in front of the electrical sub station. The low lying area in front of a Christian burial ground is being used as a waste dumping yard by the municipality, causing heart burn to many living in the area, which has a missionary hospital and a junior college close by.

The problem at Bapatla is symptomatic of the problems being faced by most of the 12 municipalities in the district grappling with the problem of unavailability of a suitable garbage yard, leave alone the scientific disposal of waste. Heaps of half-burnt garbage could have catastrophic effect on the environment and could impair the health of the people.

At a meeting held in Guntur, the municipal commissioners of all the 12 municipalities explained the initiatives taken by them to acquire land for garbage disposal.

Guntur Municipal Corporation was fortunate as the district revenue authorities handed over about 76 acres at the foot hills of Kondaveedu fort enabling the corporation to transport nearly 350 metric tonnes of waste generated per day. Municipal Health Officer P. Rama Rao said on Thursday that the GMC would soon have a scientific land fill at the yard in Kondaveedu, which is the most efficient way of disposing and recycling of domestic waste.

But other municipalities, including Tenali, Bapatla and Ponnur are still struggling to acquire suitable lands. Municipal Commissioner of Bapatla, Niranjan Reddy said that they have zeroed on in a site of 5. 4 acres in Mulapalem. The BMC is also looking at two sites of 15 acres of each, one on the GBC Road and another on the Pedanandipadu Road.

In Tenali, the small area of 6.7 acres is hardly enough to dump 95 metric tonnes of waste and the municipal authorities had scouted for a 25 acre plot near Kolakaluru, while in Poonur the municipal authorities were keen to acquire two additional acres at Nidubrolu.

“The Central Government has allocated a huge chunk of funds for the scientific disposal of garbage and there is no dearth of funds. We hope that the Municipalities in coordination with the Revenue department will finalise the sites soon,” said Regional director of Municipal Administration D. Karuna Chandra Babu.

Last Updated on Friday, 10 July 2009 12:09
 

New technology to handle solid waste in Kolar

Thursday, 09 July 2009 11:31 administrator
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Source: Deccan Herald Date : 09.07.2009

New technology to handle solid waste in Kolar

K Narasimhamurthy,DH News Service,Kolar:

Kolar City Municipal Council has planned to adopt new technology to manage the City’s solid waste.
 

Talking to the Deccan Herald,V Mohan Kumar, CMC Environmental Executive Engineer, who had recently returned after finishing study tour in Karwar about solid waste management, said that Council had sent a proposal demanding 25 acres of land near Varadenahalli-Mittagallahalli to handle the City’s solid waste.

In Karwar Dolphy method is followed, which involves the old model of solid waste purification plant. In this method, garbage which is segregated will be collected in a place and sand layers will be built on them.

Employing new technology in garbage treatment will provide more benefits such as increased income, preparation of compost manure from garbage, recycling of plastic and and other waste products to produce energy etc.

By adopting such methods, we can handle solid waste and also generate income at the same time, Mohan added.

We can produce power by passing purified wastes through gas chamber and save power. Mohan said, “In Karwar, only five acres of land has been allotted for the garbage treatment plant instead of the 25 acres of land that we demanded. If we are provided with vacant land treating solid waste trough new technology becomes an easy task for us.”

25 acres of land

Proposal seeking 25 acres of land for the construction of waste treatment plant has been submitted six months ago. In the six months time, survey has been conducted twice.

The office of the Deputy Commissioner should consider this matter seriously and should take appropriate action, he added.

 
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