The Hindu              29.05.2013

Hotel waste disposal on BBMP’s menu

Civic authority, hotel owners signpact with private firm.

To ensure that the garbage generated by bulk generators,
including hotels, marriage and community halls, malls and business
parks, don’t burden landfills, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
(BBMP) and the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels’ Association (BBHA) on Tuesday
signed a memorandum of understanding with NobleExchange Environment
Solutions (NEX).

Hotels, including small eateries and
darshinis, alone generate around 750 tonnes of waste every day. As per
the MoU, the BBMP will provide NEX five acres of land in Kannahalli and
Kudlu to set up waste processing plants.

“The plants
are expected to be operational in a year. Hoteliers will pay 90 paise
per kg of waste to NEX, which will provide zero odour and zero drip bins
to the BBHA members,” said BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah.

BBMP,
it is said, will levy a fine of Rs. 5,000 on hotels and eateries
littering on footpaths. For the second offence, the fine will double and
their trade licence will be cancelled after the third offence.

BBMP
has also given 30 acres at Kudlu and Chikkanagamangala to the Karnataka
Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) and will send 100 tonnes of wet
waste to it from June 1. From August 1, it will send 300 tonnes of wet
waste there.

Mr. Siddaiah said that dry waste
collection centres (DWCC) would be operational by the month-end in 140
wards, and by June-end in others. As much as 50 per cent of the garbage
packages were being managed by the new contractors. The tender process
for the other packages is on. “However, BBMP’s Solid Waste Management
committee has suggested recruiting 4,000 pourakarmikas and providing
them [with proper] equipment. This way, the BBMP need not depend on the
garbage contractors. [We] already employ 3,400 pourakarmikas,” he said.

Mr.
Siddaiah said that Manipal Hospitals had been made the nodal
association to monitor disposal of biomedical waste. “A survey is on to
ascertain who are not disposing of it as per the prescribed methods. The
BBMP will soon include household sanitary and medical waste and
[designate] biomedical waste collection centres,” he said.