Deccan Herald              03.07.2013

Palike moots panel to sort waste from garbage heaps

In order to reduce the burden on landfill sites, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike will constitute a panel of industries and vendors to sort out ‘best out of waste’ from the garbage heaps in the City.

The decision to set up a committee was among a slew of initiatives, taken in the Expert Committee Meeting (ECM) on garbage held on Tuesday. It was decided that items such as polythene bag, plastic bottle, glass, metal, can, rubber collected from households or littered in public could be utilised by the industries to recycle and reuse them.

The committee headed by the BBMP commissioner will also consider incentives to industries and traders who will help reduce the burden on the landfill sites. The meeting also decided to impart special training to bulk generators, especially hoteliers on the scientific disposal of garbage. A meeting in this regard will be called shortly, sources said.

It was also resolved to float new tenders for 32 packages of garbage contract. The new tenders will have some additional norms, which have been introduced for zero-garbage wards. The contractors will be made accountable for any failure in ensuring litter-free wards. The Committee also decided to expand the zero-garbage initiative to 22 more wards within a fortnight, which will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister.

To ensure success in the initiative, the Palike has decided to give more responsibilities to residents’ welfare associations and non-governmental organisations. They could be assigned the task of social audit and third party inspection.