Open House: Do you think the initiative of dry and wet waste segregation is successful?

Mass awareness need of the hour

The initiative taken by the authorities for dry and wet waste segregation is partially successful. While most of the residents segregate waste at home only, a few others are not doing so. In order to achieve 100 per cent result, first of all the authorities should create mass awareness among residents on benefits of waste segregation. If still some people are adamant and do not segregate waste at home, the authorities should impose huge fines on such people.

Sanjay Chawla

Residents should be responsible too 

Collection of segregated waste is an excellent initiative by the Municipal Corporation. As per my experience, the employees who come to collect garbage are very particular about segregation before they collect waste. When someone doesn’t segregate as required, they refuse to take it. It clearly proves their sincerity towards their duty, but sadly most complain about segregation just because it requires a bit of effort. They, of course, overlook the many benefits behind it. In other words, if we the citizens offer complete support, the programme can be really successful. It is a must to avoid many kinds of unchecked pollution. There can be segregation of broken glass too, considering animals that come to eat at garbage dumps. Moreover, we should not always blame the authorities for everything. Till we do not play a responsible role, the government cannot be successful in achieving any aim.

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Waste mgmt starts at household level

Waste management starts at the household level and is not that difficult to achieve. Even a few minor changes can go a long way. Firstly, have two garbage disposal bins at home, one for dry waste and one for wet waste. It is important to make sure that wet waste is thrown out of the house on a daily basis. Dry waste can be discarded twice or thrice a week. Introduce two separate disposal drums on your complex ground and explain to people the importance of segregation. The process of waste segregation should be thoroughly explained to family and neighbours in your apartment building. Create awareness among the staff in the apartment building to help make the process easier. If done in a proper manner, waste management not only eliminates the surrounding waste, but also will reduce the intensity of the greenhouse gases like methane and carbon monoxide which gets emitted from the waste accumulated.

Rohit Kumar Sehdev

the Will to do public service is lacking

Every proposal appears good on paper, but doesn’t turn out the same on ground. No doubt the garbage lifting vehicles have separate compartments for dry and wet waste, but while loading the same if one side is half-filled and the other is overflowing, the attendant mixes the two. Further, the authorities engage poor people to take out plastic and other items from the waste loaded in the vehicle. This job is done in a moving vehicle, which naturally results in mixing of waste. Unloading the waste at a designated place is done through hydraulic gears. In the absence of lids, chances of mixing of waste are much more. While all this is happening, no public representative or higher-ups in the MC is concerned with it. Earlier, the Amritsar MC used to take care of the health and education services of the city in addition to their normal duties. Princess Wales hospital at Dhab Khatikan used to be run by the MC, while they also used to pay some amount from their property tax collection to the state government-run Civil Hospital. The local MC also ran the power plant at Tarawala pull. There were numerous other public services which municipality used to provide. Above all, in those old days, revenue resources were limited in today’s comparison but there was will to do public service, which is lacking today. Hence, I don’t see any solution to the problem pointed out by you.

Naresh Johar

it’s Residents’ duty to segregate waste

Amritsar is a beautiful city, but looks very ugly at the first sight. Reason is obvious that every nook and corner is littered with unsegregated domestic waste. Even the so-called posh colonies are no exception. The authorities are putting in efforts to maintain the city clean by providing dustbins to every household. At certain important points, bottle crushing units are installed. In some parts, big dustbins for dry and wet waste are kept. Alas! the city looks shabby. The authorities can provide technical and logistic support, but without residents’ involvement all plans go awry. Hence it is the residents’ duty to segregate wet and dry waste at their end. It takes just a few minutes for an individual house, saving a lot of time of the trash collectors. They can pick and place the waste in proper packs immediately. Residents can also make use of wet waste for their plants. The most important point is unsegregated waste is dangerous for stray animals as they ingest the polythene bags along with wet waste. Agree or not, before expecting much from the authorities we must understand our duty i.e. separate wet and dry waste before throwing it out.

Madhu Sharma

Evaluate recycling, composting options

Our cities daily produce hundreds of tonnes of waste, both wet and dry. It’s segregation and management should be started right at the source, in places like homes, shops, malls and roadside vendors. But waste management is one of the most crucial problems our cities all over India is facing now-a-days. When we segregate waste, there is not only reduction in the amount of waste that gets landfilled, it also results in the reduction of pollution levels by lowering the percentage of garbage’s exposure to air and water. As such waste management is important because it reduces the effect of pollution on the environment and the nature. It can further help reduce the waste material that are harmful for the environment such as plastic, glass, thermocol etc. Waste segregation is necessary as it becomes easier to recycle dry waste like plastic, metal and paper them into new products. As such, proper waste management is necessary because it will help in reducing the greenhouse gas emission, toxic gas explosions and air, soil and water pollution. Therefore, segregation of dry and wet waste should be done from home itself. This habit will reduce burden of the municipal authorities to segregate the waste. Although it is the duty of municipalities to collect and dispose of the waste, individual efforts by the citizens can make all the difference between success and failure of waste management initiative. The only way the initiative can be made successful is by focusing first on waste prevention that will help eliminate waste at the source. Besides, evaluate recycling and composting options to manage waste that cannot be prevented.

LJ Singh, Chief Engineer (retd)

Provide quality bins of different colours

Every household, establishment and factory generate waste which can be categorised under different classes. As per a report, India generates about 62 billion tonnes of waste daily. Mainly, there is biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. Household waste like peels of vegetables and fruits, waste tea leaves, residual cooked and uncooked food and garden trimmings come under the category of biodegradable waste. Under non-biodegradable waste come the plastic waste, synthetic, e-waste, iron waste wood and the like. While disposing, its segregation is as necessary as mixing is harmful. If segregated, the first type of waste is composted and the second type can be easily recycled. The government has made rules to regulate the segregation of the waste at the source of its production. These rules mandate nil tolerance for throwing or burning the solid waste generated on streets, open public spaces, water bodies, etc. The public should be enlightened about the importance of segregation of waste. While the government is doing much by framing schemes like Swachh Bharat and is spending much to improve the overall picture of dishevelled India, it should provide good quality containers of different colours for different kinds of waste to every 10 or so waste producers in every locality wherefrom it can be picked up by collecting agencies.

AK Joshi

Install cameras, catch offenders red-handed

One knows that words have no much significance until the action is carried out. The outcome of a policy imposed by a government is observed through the physical aspects and behaviours of the communities in the region. Everyday while commuting from home to school, I see large garbage dumps just outside residential areas, which concerns me. Punjab residents are either too lazy or are the victims of less knowledge that they still aren’t able to practice proper segregation. Taking the urban areas as an exception, the rural areas tend to be nowhere near to be the ones practising proper waste segregation. The government should leave lackadaisical behaviour and by its physical power must carry out responsible decisions. By imposing medium fines for low-income families, it will create a strict environment for the rural areas to follow the rule. Garbage collectors can be instructed by the governments to either choose to pick up segregated waste or give residents a refuse note. Cameras can be installed at areas which are prone to garbage dumping to catch people red-handed. The government should give subsidy to domestic producers to develop two dry and wet waste dustbins for commoners. We as the citizens of Punjab must take responsibility to at least make our homelands disease-free and well managed. At last just think “Would we like to live in a neighbourhood full of garbage and diseases?”

Dhanvi Bansal

Awareness drives and strictness a must

No, I don’t think that the initiative to segregate waste at homes is successful. It is usually seen that the segregation of waste is done by a person atop the garbage vehicle and very few residents seem to be following the practice. It should be made compulsory for the residents to segregate waste at home. Initially, awareness campaigns must be launched to make the residents aware about this practice as very few people may know about it. Then, it should be ensured by the authorities that people are following this practice strictly.

Jatinderpal Singh Batth

Public support, official monitoring needed

It is gratifying to see authorities concerned about waste management in the cities and towns of the state. As elsewhere in India, Punjab generates thousands of tonnes of garbage daily most of which is dumped untreated at public places or in the open. The odour emanating from heaps of trash or the smoke wherever it is burnt has an adverse affect on human health and environment. Aware of the alarming problem, the civic bodies have provided residents access to basic waste management services. Unlike before, the authorities have reportedly purchased adequate waste management equipment and started collecting solid waste from the households. In the West, residents are required to segregate dry and wet waste at their homes to make the task of the civic bodies easier. Undoubtedly, sensible and sensitive people obey the directions willingly but a majority of them don’t care two hoots. For the successful implementation of the waste management project, public support, together with monitoring and regulation, is essential. The officials should ensure that all households belonging to the lower income groups maintain garbage bins for the purpose. Those who do not act accordingly should be strictly dealt with. Residents should also try to do more to ‘reduce, recycle and reuse’ and pave the way for a better world and healthier environment in the future.

Tajpreet S Kang

Penalise those not segregating waste

During my frequent visits to the United States, where both my sons reside, I have observed that there are dustbins of different colours in which they put their dry and wet waste generated in their homes. Every week the local authorities bring their specific vehicles to empty those dustbins. Similar procedure should be implemented in our cities too. In our country, people don’t segregate waste in their homes. They just splatter the waste in front of their homes and in the streets. Even though the Municipal Corporation has urged people to segregate the waste, but residents scarcely follow the guideline. Maybe some penalties may do the trick. Strict measures will not only make residents compliable, but also encourage sanitary workers to do their duty fully and conscientiously. The MC should take the help of media to spread awareness and make the initiative a success. People should be made aware of their civic duties and how waste segregation can help keep contamination and diseases like dengue, malaria, cholera, typhoid at bay.

Dr JS Wadhwa

Commercial places following guidelines

In my opinion, waste management by way of segregation has been partially successful. While the impact in the city may not be visible due to residents’ reluctance to take pains to segregate waste, commercial establishments, such as hospitals and restaurants, are following the rules as framed by the administration. We still see heaps of garbage on internal roads and streets as residents are failing to follow the directions issued by the competent authorities. As Jalandhar is under the Smart City project, it is the duty of the authorities to educate and guide residents to adopt the culture of dry and wet waste segregation. The city is expanding with the focus on development of infrastructure on the outskirts, just like in Mohali and Noida, the focus on effective waste management assumes great significance. If the authorities fail to gauge the emerging situation in the burgeoning city, the waste, sewage and water supply management can pose insurmountable challenges. We will have to wait and watch how the administration frames the policies in future, especially on waste management.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Engage NGOs, residents to achieve target

Over the past few years, there has been a colossal increase in the biomass residue and domestic waste, making the civic bodies’ task to dispose of the garbage and maintain cleanliness in cities even more onerous. Notably, one of the prime objectives of the Swachh Bharat Mission, launched in 2014, is to sensitise people towards environmental care with stress on hygiene to improve the general quality of life. However, the mission can’t be wholly transformative if it is not executed fairly as the garbage lies scattered around the houses or localities due to the apathy of safai karamacharis and carelessness of the residents, which is not only the major cause of pollution, but invites many ailments, as well. Apparently, a lot more needs to be done to manage the domestic waste in a scientific manner, which involves collection, transportation, processing, recycling, treatment, and disposal of the solid and liquid material. Safai karamcharis ought to be exhorted and monitored regularly to dump the waste at designates sites only. The government should engage NGOs in cleanliness projects and every citizen should come forward and behave responsibly in proper disposal of the domestic waste by segregating it for easier decomposition for useful purposes. With a little more care and cautious approach a lasting solution to the problem of foul-smelling heaps of garbage piling up at different sites can be found and several other environmental issues can be effectively addressed.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Strengthen waste disposal system

Disposal and management of garbage is a major challenge the local governing bodies are struggling to meet satisfactorily. But the gigantic task cannot be performed successfully without the support of locals. For proper management, the waste at source has to be minimised and its segregation into wet and dry ones at homes has to be undertaken. Residents need to be made aware of segregation, besides strengthening the official system for collection, segregation and disposal of garbage. The government should additionally engage the services of scrap dealers for proper disposal and recycling of glass bottles, tins, packing materials, plastic items, papers etc., which constitute 80% of total trash from homes. Even rag-pickers can be engaged officially and paid daily wages, too, on an experimental basis. If successful, the initiative will not only help manage city’s waste properly, but also generate livelihood for the poor.

Jagdish Chander

Shun plastic, use more of recyclable items

Waste management is a burning issue in the country today and has a devastating impact on human health and the ecosystem. The sanitation workers should be properly trained. They should build a rapport with residents and encourage them to keeping doing segregation. On their part, the residents should use reusable grocery bags, avoid disposable food and drink containers and utensils, make organic compost from food leftovers to use in their kitchen gardens and flower pots.

DS Kang

QUESTION

In 2016, Amritsar was included in the list of the cities that had to be developed under the Smart City Mission. Six years on, do you see any visible changes around you that show the city is on its way to becoming a ‘Smart City’?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (September 8)