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Solid Waste Management

Udupi to launch waste segregation scheme

Tuesday, 29 October 2013 05:52 administrator
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The Hindu            29.10.2013

Udupi to launch waste segregation scheme

In its bid to make Udupi a litter-free city, the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) will be introducing waste segregation at source in 3,500 houses shortly.

The city generates about 55 tonnes of garbage daily. Now, there is a provision of door-to-door collection of waste in the city. There are about 32,000 households in the city and door-to-door waste collection is being done in 70 per cent of these houses. The waste is being collected by self-help groups (SHGs). A fee of Rs. 30 per house per month is charged.

Waste from the remaining 30 per cent of houses is not being collected as they are scattered, while some residents dispose the garbage in their own gardens. The garbage collected is being disposed of at the solid waste management plant, located on 22 acres of land at Karvalu in Alevoor about 8 km from the city.

To promote waste segregation at source, the CMC has decided to select 100 houses in each of the 35 municipal wards in the city. These houses would be given two buckets – of green and red colours. Wet waste will be collected in green buckets while dry waste (minus plastic waste) will be collected in red buckets. The capacity of both these buckets will be 16 litres.

According to M.K. Subrahmanya, Environment Engineer at Udupi CMC, the CMC would undertake an awareness programme in all the 3,500 houses and the residents would be told how to segregate waste in the green and red buckets.

Vermi-compost Plant

In the initial phase, waste from these houses would be collected under the present mechanism. A Rs. 27-lakh vermin-compost plant of the CMC would become operational at Alevoor in two months and would require at least two tonnes of wet waste per day.

The CMC would be printing handbills to inform the targeted households about the scheme.

“We will involve councillors and go to every house and tell people about this scheme. We will also form local committees with councillors to monitor the scheme. Some SHGs, which are not performing effectively, will be told to pull up their socks,” said P. Yuvaraj, president of Udupi CMC.

Two biomethanation plants

Later, the CMC plans to extend the waste-segregation scheme to all houses in the city. When the waste segregation is extended to all houses, the wet waste collected would be used for two biomethanation plants, each requiring two tonnes of wet waste. The State government had given its nod for the two biomethanation plants, each expected to cost Rs. 34 lakh.

Methane generated will be passed into a generator, which will produce 15 kV of power per day. A separate power line will be drawn from this generator and the power generated will be used to light 60 street lamps.

“One plant will come up in Beedinagudde; we are yet to identify the area for the second plant,” Mr. Subrahmanya said.

Plastic waste

In addition, the CMC intends to tell people to keep plastic waste separate from dry waste. “The plastic waste would be collected once a week. This would make the process of segregation easier. It may take a year to make the entire city litter-free,” said K. Srikanth Rao, CMC Commissioner.

However, a CMC official said that it would have been better if two municipal wards were chosen for the segregation scheme instead of 3,500 houses spread across 35 wards as it would be easier to transport the waste.

We will involve councillors and go to every house and tell people about this scheme. We will also form local committees with municipal councillors to monitor the scheme

P. Yuvaraj, President, Udupi CMC.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 October 2013 06:01
 

Taking waste management solutions to the grassroots

Monday, 28 October 2013 11:59 administrator
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The Times of India              28.10.2013  

Taking waste management solutions to the grassroots

PANAJI: Last week saw some action in the areas of Sao Tome and Fontainhas in Panaji. The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) along with 100 students from Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panaji, and TOI's Youth Brigade got a first-hand experience, explaining to people in the locality the method of segregating garbage at source.

The CCP's co-opted councilor Patricia Pinto supervised this grassroots initiative to solve the waste management issue. The two-day campaign covered 250 houses and drew mixed responses from the residents.

Says Earl de Souza, "It's a good initiative and a great cause. Although, however good it seems, I think it is going to be a little difficult for people to keep up with the 4-bin idea."Kishore Banastarkar said, "Not only the houses, but CCP should try to do something about the roads as well as they are very messy. The schools in the locality should teach their students not to throw chips packets and other waste onto the roads. The 4-bin system is a good idea and manageable. A little difficult at the start, but people will get used to it."Said Clifton Afonso, "Segregating into 4-bins is definitely possible. There's a need for people to be sensitized about the issue. Seeing people just dumping garbage in the river here is saddening. It's a good initiative and it's great to see the youth stepping up."

The CCP also received valuable feedback from the local residents.

Says S R Naique, "The idea of having separate bags for sanitary pads makes a lot of sense." Maria Elsa Fernandes alleged that CCP workers mix the waste while collecting it. "What's the point of segregating waste at house level? It's a useless idea," she said.

Maria de Sa, Mrs Dias, Eviaca Dias and several others pointed out that garbage collectors don't collect waste regularly. A vehicle showroom alleged that garbage has not been collected till date.

Marzalisa N Noel said a complaint was given to police about people polluting the Ourem creek, but the police did not act. "We gave a complaint to police along with photos of tenants throwing garbage into the river, but no action has been taken," she said.

Farmacia F Menezes said that they sell paper and plastic to scrap dealers. Tecla M Souza said that she was aged and didn't even have household help. "It's difficult for me. But if you can provide bins, I can try," she said. Alina Fernandes, Antonio Barretto and several others asked for bins to be provided.

Francisco Martins of Ribandar said, "This is a great initiative. I'm from Ribandar, you should do this there as well." But, Basilista Vaz raised a query. "Why should we segregate waste separately, when we are already paying for it?" she said.

Residents who live on Rua Luis de Menezes complained that a restaurant places its garbage every night on the road and stray animals mess it up. "This is causing a major hassle. A dustbin has been provided, but the hotel doesn't use it," a resident said.

The students from Nirmala Institute of Education, undergoing training to be teachers, said the campaign helped them get first-hand feedback. Says Denzil Martins, "We, as an institute, have been involved in many community services and have taken up such an activity in the past as well. Going door-to-door is needed to understand obstacles at the grassroot level. We acquire first-hand feedback."

Said Delia Antao, "It is high time that youth step up for a cleaner environment for it is for their future. Our ancestors have given us a lot. The youth should preserve it and pass it on."

Ximena Fonseca said, "It's excellent to know youth are taking up social issues. And heartening to know they are ready to do their bit."

Suvarna Gauns said that understanding civic responsibility should be at the individual level. "Teachers should specially pick this topic up in moulding children into proper garbage managers from a very young age," she said.

Added Sangeeta Kadam, "It is our responsibility to take care of our state and nation. We should start with ourselves and stop pointing fingers."

Local ward councilor Rudresh Chodankar said, "I live in Mala and some students came to my house to educate me on segregation. It was very impressive work. To all the residents of Mala, Fontainhas and Sao Tome, the CCP and I are aware that garbage has been a menace. But, I promise we're working on it."

Said CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues, "Thank you, all of you. I'm very glad to see young people working for social change. As you'll know, garbage management is a collective effort and will require everyone to work towards it. We hope CCP's partnership with youth grows even more in time." Panaji mayor Surendra Furtado added, "I appreciate the efforts put in by the youth despite of the hot climate, as it hasn't deterred their efforts." The CCP will now implement the 4-bin system in Sao Tome and Fontainhas from November 6 onwards.

 

A2Z to start garbage collection from November 7

Friday, 25 October 2013 11:48 administrator
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The Times of India        25.10.2013

A2Z to start garbage collection from November 7

VARANASI: Solid waste management firm A2Z will not be able to start its door-to-door collection of garbage from November 1 as claimed before. The firm submitted its action plan on Thursday to mayor Ramgopal Mohale. It is evident from the plan that the firm will start collecting the garbage from the garbage collection centre (GCC) in the Bhelupur ward from November 7. Though the action plan did not mention the date from when the firm will start its door-to-door collection and transportation operation.

According to director, A2Z, BN Tiwari, the main reason behind a week's delay in garbage collection is the festival of Diwali. "The government is of the view that solid waste management is very important for the maintenance of the sanitation in the city and hence it should not be disturbed during the festivities. Once the festival is over, we will start collection of garbage from a single ward and will gradually expand the area of our operation,' said the official.

The official also said that the firm can not start the collection of garbage from all the wards on the scheduled date as recruitment of sanitation workers is still to be done. "We do not have enough man power as of now. Also, we are yet to get the electricity connection despite DM's order for the same a few weeks back. In fact, the main reason behind starting the collection of the garbage from the GCC is that there is severe crisis of dumping space so we decided to first treat the garbage at the treatment plant to ease out the space problem," said Tiwari.

Though, the official admitted that the machines at the treatment plant are still not functional and are being repaired, yet he remained hopeful of starting the treatment work very soon.

 
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