The Indian Express 07.11.2013
Festive season: City collects additional 1,800 tonnes garbage
Although Diwali generates good business but there is no option to
recycle the plastic gift paper wrapped on almost every gift item. In
name of celebrations, residents add additional pollution apart from air
and noise.
This festive season, the city generated more than 1,800 tonnes
additional garbage in a fortnight and on Diwali alone the additional
garbage collection was of about 250 tonnes. The private garbage
collection company A2Z authorities said that additional garbage was
largely in form of plastic bags, packing papers, crackers’ waste etc.
Pollution control board authorities said plastic packaging
material cannot be recycled and at the moment it is just being dumped.
During Diwali the dumping increases in huge quantity. However, A2Z
company’s vice-president BS Chauhan said, “Though a large amount of
garbage was of packaging material only, but we give such material to our
plastic vendors who use them in making plastic pipes. Government
approved vendors are being given such waste.” However, he admitted that
most packaging papers cannot be recycled but this generates good
business plastic pipe vendors.
So far the garbage collection company was not very clear as what
is being done with the packaging paper, however, they said that before
treating the garbage they do segregate such papers and give it to the
concerned vendors.
Chauhan added that on an average Ludhiana generates about 1,050
tonnes of garbage but about a fortnight before Diwali garbage collection
was about 1,150 tonnes and a day after Diwali this increased to 1,350
tonnes. Garbage collected by the company is being taken at dump point on
Tajpur Road.