Civic officials say the amount of plastic waste collected after the visarjans was only 30 per cent of 305 metric tonnes, which is significantly lesser than last year
Every year after the city bids adieu to Ganpati, residents are left with huge mounds of waste comprising of plastic bags and other refuse. However, this year, citizens in their attempt to have a more eco-friendly Ganpati, gave plastic bags a skip as the amount of plastic waste collected has significantly reduced as compared to last year.
Clean-up time: Children participate in a clean-up program, a day after the immersions. The waste collected this year was significantly lesser than last year with only 305 metric tonnes
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Every year, the civic body collects waste in huge numbers after the festival. However, out of the 305 metric tonnes of waste collected this year only 30 per cent of it comprised of plastic waste compared to last year where out of 480 metric tonnes, 40-50 per cent was plastic waste.
According to Ganesha mandals, the decrease in plastic waste is owing to the fact that several mandals opting to be eco-friendly asked devotees to use cloth bags instead of plastic bags and also promoted the ill effects of plastic. Mandals such as the GSB Seva Mandal at King Circle and the Andhericha Raja at Andheri (West) avoided plastic and also declined to make offerings in plastic bags.
Mayor Sunil Prabhu — who had requested people to go green this Ganesha — said, “The civic body has received a positive response from the public as mandals opted to use cloth bags instead of plastic bags. Owing to collective efforts, the plastic waste collected this year is significantly lesser than last year.”
Subhash Patil, a senior officer of the Solid Waste Management department, BMC, added, “This year plastic waste collected by the BMC has been far lesser than last year. The floral waste (material such as flowers and paper) will be sent to composting sites where the waste will be turned into manure so that sentiments of the people are not hurt.”u00a0
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