Don’t mix waste segregated by residents, Authority tells agency

Noida: The Noida Authority reviewed the waste segregation process for the first two days on Tuesday evening and pulled up its agency for not managing waste separately. TOI had reported earlier that while some resident welfare associations (RWAs) are segregating waste, it is being mixed after collection, rendering the entire exercise futile.
Officials said that similar feedback was received from the residents as well as the NGOs working on waste management. Officials said that the agency does not have enough resources and is gradually increasing capacity. Noida Authority has employed a private agency for door-to-door waste collection and remediation from the entire city.
“We were told by residents that the agency was collecting waste in one big jute bag and that it was eventually mixed. This could be because of the design of the collection van. Even if there are two compartments in the van, it all gets turned together in the machine, but this can’t be an excuse. We have asked the agency to make necessary arrangements to keep the waste segregated. We will be monitoring it now,” said R K Singh, officer on special duty, Noida Authority.
The Authority may also ask the contractor to increase capacity and use two separate vehicles for dry and wet waste, rather than one vehicle with two compartments.
“We are looking at the best ways to handle these problems and will ask the vendor to ensure that the waste remains segregated till the end. It also makes the process of remediation simpler. This can be easily done as there are two compressing machines at all centres for wet and dry waste,” said Singh.
He added that the Authority is trying to ensure that the door-to-door collection process covers the entire city before the end of July.
“Once door-to-door collection happens across the city, we will be increasing enforcement to ensure complete segregation and will also penalise if anyone is found disposing (of) or collecting mixed waste,” said Singh.
Other complaints from residents included irregular pickup schedule, insufficient time given for collection, untrained staff that can keep waste segregated and lack of transparency or clarity in the collection process.
On the other hand, NGO workers also said that the segregation was also not complete, even in the areas from where residents had committed earlier.
“The 20 RWAs had committed that they will ensure 100% segregation from July 1. However, this is not being done. Changing habits definitely takes time. So, we will wait for few weeks for people to increase their waste segregation,” said Parul from Sewa Samiti NGO.