Despite norms, segregation of waste a distant dream in city

Despite clear directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the existing rules, waste segregation remains a significant challenge in the city as management efforts in this regard continue to falter, with most households and marketplaces failing to segregate waste into wet and dry categories.

Waste segregation is essential for effective waste management. Wet waste, which includes food leftovers, fruit and vegetable peels and kitchen waste, decomposes quickly, while dry waste such as plastic, paper and glass does not decompose.

Segregation makes waste processing easy, convenient and economical. As per rules, every household should ideally have two dustbins to segregate waste, and waste collection firms should also handle these separately. However, the reality on the ground is different. Many households are yet to follow the procedure, and even those which do it are often undermined by waste collection employees, who mix both types of waste in the same container.

Uncovered trailers on city roads further highlight the lack of proper segregation, with food waste, plastic waste and branches of trees often thrown in together. Market places, where shopkeepers, restaurants and eateries dump their waste, also lack the necessary infrastructure for segregation. The absence of separate dustbins for wet and dry waste means that waste generated by eateries gets mixed with plastic thrown by other shopkeepers.

Municipal corporation officials have taken up the issue with the private firm entrusted with waste collection. They said that the private company had assured to increase the number of waste collection vehicles with partitions in their containers to ensure proper segregation.

A local resident, Jagwinder Singh, said, “People deserve a clean and healthy environment, and it is the responsibility of the municipal corporation and waste collection firms to ensure that waste was managed properly.” He said that the MC should also come up with a mechanism to ensure that residents do their part by segregating waste before handing the bags to waste collection vehicles.