The civic authority plans to buy 410 new trucks to carry solid waste that will ply all round the week
If you segregate waste in your housing society, but get disappointed watching the BMC dump it all in one truck, you will be glad to hear this. After facing flak for not having separate trucks for carrying segregated waste, the BMC will finally purchase 410 new trucks to carry solid waste alone. The dedicated trucks will carry the solid waste for recycling and only wet waste will be sent to the dumpyards, thus reducing the load on them.
Also read: BMC to create 35 more dry waste segregation centres
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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on a tour of the Deonar dumpyard earlier this month. Two massive fires at the dumping ground highlighted the need for better garbage segregation in the city. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
The continuous fire breakouts at Deonar dumping ground this year brought to fore the city’s waste management crisis. The city has only 30 waste segregation centres, which cater to housing societies. So, if a housing society segregates dry and wet waste, the dry waste will be brought here. It will then be sorted and stocked to be sold for recycling. The wet waste was supposed to be converted into compost. As of now, of the 10,500 metric tonnes of solid waste generated every day, only 1,200 metric tonnes is being sent for recycling. The reason being, the BMC did not have separate vehicles for collecting wet and dry waste.
Several housing societies did segregate waste but without adequate number of vehicles, the waste would get mixed again. Even cricketer Sachin Tendulkar joined in the voices urging the civic administration to do something about the issue.
“We will be inviting bids for the purchase of 410 new garbage trucks specifically for segregated garbage. Bids were already being invited for 200 and that number will be doubled. And, instead of only two days a week, the solid waste trucks will ply all seven days. We are doing everything from our end to encourage people to segregate waste,” said Vijay Balamwar, deputy municipal commissioner in-charge of solid waste.
The vehicles will take about three months to be commissioned, after which citizens can start using them. When asked if the BMC is planning to take any action against housing societies who do not segregate, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, “There is already a provision in the Municipal Solid waste Regulations of 2000 to penalise defaulters. We are looking at ways of implementing it.”
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