27 of 150 bulk waste generators install in-house processing units

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Amritsar, November 23

Despite notices, most bulk waste generators, including restaurants, hotels and marriage palaces, have not installed in-house waste processing units.

The Municipal Corporation had issued around 150 notices to bulk waste generators in the city in July 2023. The civic body had asked their operators to install in-house waste processing units.

Of these, only 27 have installed such units for waste management till date. Waste generated in marriage palaces is often dumped in green belts along bypass or link roads to nearby villages. Restaurant owners and operators fill their garbage in black plastic bags and dump these at collection bins in markets.

The health wing officials of the MC claim that only 27 major firms in the city have installed the in-house waste processing units.

According to the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules, a firm that generates more than 100 kg of waste per day is considered a bulk waste generator. An in-house waste processing unit is mandatory for such bulk waste generators as per the MSW (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016.

The health wing of the MC had identified around 150 bulk waste generators and asked them to implement the instructions of the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016.

As the machine only processes wet waste, instructions have been issued to only those firms that produce more wet waste than dry waste.

Municipal Health Officer Kiran Kumar said, “We are encouraging the owners of hotels, restaurants and marriage palaces to install waste processing units. Initially, around 27 firms, including some hotels, restaurants and educational institutions installed the processing machine.”

Many bulk waste generators don’t have space to install the processing units. So we are trying to make clusters of hotels so they can collectively install joint processing units, added Kumar.