Spl BMC plan to handle toxic waste

Bhubaneswar: For the first time, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to segregate waste generated during Diwali at its material recovery facilities (MRF), where dry garbage is processed daily.
Diwali waste contains metal, cotton thread, various chemicals, remnants of cracker powder and hard and soft papers. They need to be segregated to avoid mixing with other household waste. The civic body has sensitised waste collectors in this regard.
On a normal day, the BMC handles around 550-600 metric tonnes of municipal waste. Post-Dussehra and Diwali, the quantity of additional waste generated from puja pandals increases. Besides, used packets from sweet stalls, carry bags, remnants of crackers remain strewn across the residential areas, including arterial roads.
Suvendu Sahu, BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation), said there is no need to augment manpower to deal with extra waste as it is basically a technical job to be carried out by those engaged in MRFs. “Segregation of Diwali waste will be done at 14 MRFs currently functional apart from the daily dry municipal waste. Workers have been sensitised on how to handle the Diwali waste. Earlier, the bulk of Diwali waste was going to the dump yard,” he said adding the exact quantity of additional waste generated can be assessed only after the festival.
BMC officials said sanitation workers were earlier asked to divide areas to work in two shifts. This time, the sanitation workers will clean the waste at night after the bursting of crackers. By morning, the Diwali waste will reach the MRFs for segregation.
The trend in past two years prior to the pandemic suggest that the city will generate 200 metric tonnes of extra waste on Diwali. About half of this waste constitutes discarded packets of sweets.
In 2020, BMC for the first time did not have to deal with tonnes of additional waste as the sale and use of crackers was banned. Except stray instances of bursting of crackers, the smart city witnessed a quiet Diwali. In 2021 also, Diwali was low-key.
Bhubaneswar: For the first time, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to segregate waste generated during Diwali at its material recovery facilities (MRF), where dry garbage is processed daily.
Diwali waste contains metal, cotton thread, various chemicals, remnants of cracker powder and hard and soft papers. They need to be segregated to avoid mixing with other household waste. The civic body has sensitised waste collectors in this regard.
On a normal day, the BMC handles around 550-600 metric tonnes of municipal waste. Post-Dussehra and Diwali, the quantity of additional waste generated from puja pandals increases. Besides, used packets from sweet stalls, carry bags, remnants of crackers remain strewn across the residential areas, including arterial roads.
Suvendu Sahu, BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation), said there is no need to augment manpower to deal with extra waste as it is basically a technical job to be carried out by those engaged in MRFs. “Segregation of Diwali waste will be done at 14 MRFs currently functional apart from the daily dry municipal waste. Workers have been sensitised on how to handle the Diwali waste. Earlier, the bulk of Diwali waste was going to the dump yard,” he said adding the exact quantity of additional waste generated can be assessed only after the festival.
BMC officials said sanitation workers were earlier asked to divide areas to work in two shifts. This time, the sanitation workers will clean the waste at night after the bursting of crackers. By morning, the Diwali waste will reach the MRFs for segregation.
The trend in past two years prior to the pandemic suggest that the city will generate 200 metric tonnes of extra waste on Diwali. About half of this waste constitutes discarded packets of sweets.
In 2020, BMC for the first time did not have to deal with tonnes of additional waste as the sale and use of crackers was banned. Except stray instances of bursting of crackers, the smart city witnessed a quiet Diwali. In 2021 also, Diwali was low-key.
Bhubaneswar: For the first time, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to segregate waste generated during Diwali at its material recovery facilities (MRF), where dry garbage is processed daily.
Diwali waste contains metal, cotton thread, various chemicals, remnants of cracker powder and hard and soft papers. They need to be segregated to avoid mixing with other household waste. The civic body has sensitised waste collectors in this regard.
On a normal day, the BMC handles around 550-600 metric tonnes of municipal waste. Post-Dussehra and Diwali, the quantity of additional waste generated from puja pandals increases. Besides, used packets from sweet stalls, carry bags, remnants of crackers remain strewn across the residential areas, including arterial roads.
Suvendu Sahu, BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation), said there is no need to augment manpower to deal with extra waste as it is basically a technical job to be carried out by those engaged in MRFs. “Segregation of Diwali waste will be done at 14 MRFs currently functional apart from the daily dry municipal waste. Workers have been sensitised on how to handle the Diwali waste. Earlier, the bulk of Diwali waste was going to the dump yard,” he said adding the exact quantity of additional waste generated can be assessed only after the festival.
BMC officials said sanitation workers were earlier asked to divide areas to work in two shifts. This time, the sanitation workers will clean the waste at night after the bursting of crackers. By morning, the Diwali waste will reach the MRFs for segregation.
The trend in past two years prior to the pandemic suggest that the city will generate 200 metric tonnes of extra waste on Diwali. About half of this waste constitutes discarded packets of sweets.
In 2020, BMC for the first time did not have to deal with tonnes of additional waste as the sale and use of crackers was banned. Except stray instances of bursting of crackers, the smart city witnessed a quiet Diwali. In 2021 also, Diwali was low-key.