Open house: What steps should be taken to ensure proper collection of horticulture waste?
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Take your experience further with Premium access. Thought-provoking Opinions, Expert Analysis, In-depth Insights and other Member Only BenefitsThe MC authorities must weekly deploy sufficient labour and trailers in each pocket of the city to lift the horticulture waste. Also, most parks in the city have pits where the horticultural waste is dumped, leading to foul smell in the area. The pits in the parks must be covered or moved away from the residential areas. Machines should be purchased to crush the horticulture waste. MC workers must be directed not to dump the horticulture waste in the streets.
Kirpal Singh
QUESTION
Even three years after taking over the waste processing plant from Jaypee Group, the Municipal Corporation has failed to set up a new plant for processing the city’s garbage. What immediate steps should the MC take to stop the piling up of waste at the Dadu Majra duping ground?
Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com
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Councillors should take more interest
The Horticulture Department should be more responsible and active. It should actively work on collecting the dry leaves. Though the MC staff is doing a good job, they should take more care of cleaning the trash and garbage lying in the parks and on the roadsides. The councillors should also take more interest in the development and upkeep of their respective areas.
NPS Sohal, Chandigarh
Set up processing units in all sectors
Throwing domestic garden waste on road berms and vacant land has become a usual practice. Even the garden waste at public parks is dumped in a corner. Piles of waste, which can be easily processed into manure, start emanating foul smell after some time. It is the duty of the Horticulture Department to clear the waste regularly. Government should plan to set up small processing units in sectors under the supervision of RWAs. Strict laws should be in place to check littering.
RP Malhotra, Panchkula
Adopt system of developed countries
Just like the developed countries, such as America, mini air blowers should be used to collect the leaves quickly and in an efficient manner. The leaves can be collected and placed in a corner. MC vehicles should then pick the waste within a few hours. We should learn from their system and adopt it immediately.
Anil Mangla, Panchkula
Ensure daily waste collection
There are sweepers who clean the roads daily and make heaps of dry leaves outside houses or near service lanes. When these heaps of waste are not lifted daily, residents start throwing household waste on top of the piles. Daily collection of waste outside the houses is as essential as the daily collection of household garbage. The trees planted alongside should also be replaced as they generate a lot of green waste and pollen, which flies around and litters the area.
Sapna Sharda, Chandigarh
Purchase mobile machines
The economical way to handle the issue is to have mobile pulverising machines that can be taken around the city to shred dried leaves collected at different spots and parks. These machine are not too costly. The dried leaves and other horticultural waste can be powdered and further used for composting. Such machines are already operational in Bangalore. It saves the cost of transportation and labour as the volume of the waste gets reduced by 80%.
Sriprakash, Chandigarh
Prepare manure from horticulture waste
There should be a separate horticulture team in the city to ensure timely lifting of waste. MC should use the horticulture waste to prepare manure, which can be used for green belts and trees planted along the roadsides. The manure can also be sold to the residents or in markets at reasonable rates. This way, the MC can earn more revenue and use it for the development of the city.
Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali
Utilise manpower judiciously
A majority of manpower deployed across the city for sweeping and cleaning, works for around one hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. There is no proper system to check if these workers are completing their duty hours or not. There is sufficient manpower with the MC, but the workers take their job casually and are not even held accountable for not taking their work seriously. There is a need to ensure proper working of the MC.
KC Rana, Chandigarh
Ensure transportation soon after disposal
Horticulture waste generation is not uniform in the city, but increases during the autumn season and sometimes during the storms. Timely collection of this waste should be ensured and transportation should be carried out soon after its disposal. Additional manpower and machinery must be deployed during the autumn season as there is a bulk generation of horticulture waste during the period.
Sukhvinder Singh, Chandigarh
Admn responsible for city’s maintenance
The trash from the parks and roadsides should be cleared on a day-to-day basis by the horticulture wing. The wing has sufficient transportation facilities and labour force. The upkeep of the city lies with the Chandigarh Administration. Chandigarh is a tourist hub and should be maintained properly.
MR Bhateja
Fix schedule for waste collection
It is highly deplorable that there is no proper system in place for the collection of dry leaves and horticulture waste in the city. The administration should collaborate with the MC and the Horticulture Department for joint action. The authorities should think of outsourcing the collection of horticulture waste. Residents and RWAs are also responsible for this. If it is not possible to collect waste daily, there should be a few fixed days in a month.
Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula
Spread mulch under tree foliage
Spreading mulch prepared from organic matter under the tree foliage can effectively support reducing the horticulture waste. Mulching can be done as part of landscaping and is aesthetically appealing also. Mulch spread helps the soil retain moisture and enhances sustainable horticulture waste decomposition. Besides that, it also increases the soil quality and stops unnecessary weeds from growing.
Chetan Verma, Mohali
Use dry leaves as secondary fuel
Timely removal of dry leaves and horticulture waste is the only key for the management of the problem. There are surplus spaces in the tricity that can be used as warehouses to store the dry leaves and horticulture waste. These can then be processed to make organic compost, which can be sold to private or govt agencies for maintenance of green belts and trees in the city. The fallen leaves also prevent weed from growing around the trees. Hence, they can be an excellent source of soil amendment and protection of trees on a regular basis. The dry leaves can also serve as secondary fuel in coal power plants.
Vijay Shukla, Chandigarh
Form separate MC team for lifting waste
The MC has no proper system of collecting dry leaves, horticulture waste and other thrash from across the city. The only way out is to purchase machines to collect the waste on a daily basis. The MC should have a separate team to lift the waste from parks and roadsides and dump it at a designated place. The waste can also be used to prepare manure.
Sukhwant Bhullar, Chandigarh
Decompose dry leaves through vermiculture
In 2002, the then UT Adviser Neeru Nanda had initiated a project called Sahaj Safai and Khad Banao Kendras in Sectors 15, 21, 26, 27, 33 and 36. Under the project, the authorities in these sectors had installed infrastructure for decomposing dry leaves through vermiculture to make fertiliser and further use it in green belts of the city. In 2010, a suggestion was made to construct ‘pucca’ pits in each sector and dump leaves in it. This would not only solve the problem, but would also provide quality fertiliser after five to six months for the green belts.
Sanjay Chopra, Mohali
Need to Implement segregation system
The frequency of collection of waste should be increased to ensure that it does not pile up. Provide adequate infrastructure for the collection and disposal of horticulture waste. Implement a segregation system for the collection of horticulture waste. Along with this, provide separate bins for dry leaves and other horticulture waste. Regular inspections and audits must be conducted to identify any gaps in the system. Above all, the city authorities should encourage composting of horticulture waste.
Anita K Tandon, Mundi Kharar
Hire contractors for the job
It is surprising to see that Chandigarh aims to be a smart city without any concrete plan to dispose of dry leaves and horticulture waste. The municipal councillors were made to visit smart cities like Indore and Nagpur at the taxpayers’ expense to take a leaf out of their books and implement the same strategies here. But it seems it was a waste of time and money. Vehicles like tractor-trailers should be hired and waste should be collected by giving the job to contractors. The waste collected should be shifted to plants to convert it into manure. Thus, with a little initiative, the city’s parks can be kept clean and at the same time, the issue of manure shortage can be addressed.
Yash Khetarpal, Panchkula
Train staff in lifting, recycling trash
Garbage pickers must be trained to gather horticultural waste and recycle it for composting, which promotes sustainability also. Incorporating the informal sector into the official waste management system will assist to lower down the overall biodegradable trash collection costs. This will also offer new work opportunities.
Aarti Rana Chauhan, Kharar
Compost pits are the solution
The administration should take the responsibility and take necessary steps immediately. The technique of compost pit will be helpful in solving the problem. These pits will be helpful in making manures and fertile compounds.
Adish Sood
Depute sector-wise staff for lifting waste
The collection of horticulture waste and leaves is a tardy process. There should be a fixed cycle of collection, processing, and disposal of the end product. Clear orders for responsibilities should be given to officers, supervisors, and others. Workflow charts should be made and followed properly. Sector-wise staff should be deputed from starting points to the processing site. Planning and execution should be simultaneous and workable. The latest tools must be used for the collection of leaves.
Bharat Bhushan Sharma
Motivate public to keep city clean
The administration must maintain the status of the city beautiful. The system of collecting dry leaves and horticulture waste in the city is poor. The work should be distributed among separate teams and the trash must be removed daily. Supervision should be done regularly. The administration should fix the responsibilities of team in-charges if proper collection is not done. Large iron cages should be fixed in parks for dry leaves and waste materials. The public should be motivated to keep the city clean. Schemes for waste management should be implemented.
Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali
Residents should file complaints
It is the duty of corporation officials to ensure the proper lifting of horticulture waste. The officials concerned should make a round of their respective areas to ensure that the drivers concerned lift the piled up dried leaves. The residents should file complaints regarding the non-lifting of waste as these dry leaves fall in the gullies and lead to blockage in the rainy season.
Savita Kuthiala
Use mechanised covered trailers
Trees, shrubs and hedges in the city shed enormous leaves and create horticulture waste in the public parks and on roads. The waste gets piled up in situ, but the MC takes several days to dispose it off. Many a times, the heaps of waste get scattered due to gusts of wind, making an aesthetically distasteful appearance. The MC should use mechanised covered trailers, fitted with suction arrangements for regular lifting of waste to ensure hygienic environments.
SS Arora, Mohali
Contractors need to be removed
The root cause of the problem is that there are contractors who are assigned the work of clearing the waste and their staff/labour does not work properly. There is a nexus between the contractors and the corporation and it is the taxpayers that have to suffer because of it. The stench and the ugly sight of garbage dumped at parks and sometimes overflowing from the drains, especially in southern areas of the city, is not uncommon in Chandigarh as well. It is all because the waste disposal issue has been given very little attention by the MC. There is a need to remove the contractors. The MC should employ its work force on a regular basis to clean the parks and greenbelts.
SK Khosla, Chandigarh
No proper waste management plan
The administration must have machines to collect waste from the parks and convert it into organic fertiliser. The corporation always claims that there is a shortage of funds. There is actually no proper plan for waste management. If there is a shortage of funds, the administration should tale help from NGOs or ask the government for the expenses to buy machines that could be used to lift the waste from the parks and turn it into organic fertiliser. This can also help to increase the corporation’s revenue.
Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh
Station cleanliness workers in parks
The collection of horticulture waste is a major requirement for Chandigarh to improve its rankings in the Swachh Survekshan. The waste should be collected on a daily basis by stationing cleanliness workers in the parks and gardens. Specialised composting and vermi-composting units should be set up in these parks to decompose the waste items there itself. The cleanliness workers should ensure that the waste is regularly added to the composting pits. Segregation of solid waste and horticulture waste collected on the roads should also be done. Careless and casual behaviour on part of the cleanliness workers should be flagged by the residents through their municipal councillors and RWAs.
Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh
Devise a proper strategy
Not removing the trash from different spots in the city on time causes various problems to the people. It not only spoils the beauty of the city, but also blocks the drains across the city during rainy season. The dry leaves also pose risk of fire in case someone unknowingly throws a burning match stick. So, the MC should devise a strategy to remove all this trash on a regular basis. The MC can procure machines to crush the dry leaves. Composting leaves is the most eco-friendly alternative to burning.
Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh
Establish recycling facilities
The administration can take a significant step by implementing a leaf-collection programme during the fall season. It is essential to establish recycling facilities within the MC department, equipped with trained staff, vacuum trucks and composting machinery. Moreover, the MC could consider setting up a recycling facility specifically dedicated to processing dry leaves into valuable products such as mulch, bio-fuel or organic fertilisers. Collaborating with local businesses and organisations would be beneficial in achieving this objective.
Mohammed Nasser Gorsi