Officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) told
The Hindu
that a spike in generation of waste is witnessed primarily on two
occasions — during Ganesh Chaturthi and Ramzan. And with restaurants and
eateries doing brisk business in the holy month, the city sees an
additional waste generation of up to approximately 300 metric tonnes per
day.

“Plastic is used for containers to store or serve edible
items. The spoons and bowls, particularly used by haleem outlets, are
made of plastic. Then there are those who use use polythene bags to
carry food and other items. At times, this poses a problem as waste is
dumped into nalas by some people,” a GHMC official said.

Explaining
the trends in waste generation, Project Director of GHMC’s Swachh
Bharat Mission Soma Bharat said the daily generation of waste ranges
roughly between 4,600 and 5,000 metric tonnes per day. “During Ramzan,
an additional 200 metric tonnes to 300 tonnes is generated per day. Of
this, around 20% is plastic waste,” he said.

Officials said to
tackle disposal of waste, the GHMC had a meeting with owners of
restaurants and eateries. A circular has been sent to officials
instructing them to complete de-silting by May 16 and ensure garbage
lifting around masjids every day.

“In fact, it was only last month
that we had a meeting with shopkeepers regarding the use of plastic. We
are also incentivising the non-use of plastic,” said GHMC Additional
Commissioner (SWM-HIMWS and Sanitation) Smriti Ojha.