Bhubaneswar: New waste-disposal rules on the cards

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is working on a new set of waste disposal rules for apartments and housing societies. Under the new rules, proper segregation of dry and wet waste has been made compulsory.
The BMC is also planning to provide separate waste-collecting vehicles for bulk garbage generators and introduce two-wheelers and three-wheelers to collect garbage from narrow streets and bylanes, sources said. As per the Solid Waste Management Act, 2016, apartments and housing societies that generate over 100-kg garbage on a daily basis are considered as bulk waste generators. These establishments are supposed to handle the waste properly besides processing wet garbage at source. “In our city, apartments and housing societies do not segregate or handle their waste properly. As a result, the BMC collects mixed and unsegregated waste. Under the new guidelines, proper segregation of waste by apartments and gated communities will be strictly enforced,” said BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange.
BMC sources said apartments will be encouraged to process wet waste on their premises, prepare compost or generate biogas and handover the dry waste to the civic body. Those unable to prepare compost or process the waste may handover the segregated garbage to the BMC. The civic body has conducted rounds of discussions on the issue with apartment residents. “Apartment residents don’t have any experience of processing waste. We can provide segregated waste to the BMC,” said B N Panda, resident of an apartment at the Unit-8 area.