Jalandhar-based greenies offer easy ways to MC to handle garbage menace

Deepkamal Kaur

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Jalandhar, November 17

As residents of Model Town, Urban Estate, and Jalandhar Heights complain that the Municipal Corporation has made garbage dumping points in their vicinity, city-based entrepreneur Harpreet Badwal and environmentalist Meenal Verma offer a solution.

Badwal had earlier set up a plant for the scientific disposal of 3 tonnes of kitchen waste daily and preparing organic manure near the bus stand here. He has told the Municipal Corporation that he is ready to set up at least two more such plants in the city if the civic body provides him space and equipment which would cost lakhs.

Verma, who runs the NGO, Going Zero Waste, organises a dry waste collection drive every month. Her NGO has been offering people to come up with plastic, cardboard, e-waste, food packets, empty medicine strips, old brushes, newspapers, glass bottles, stationary waste, among others, at the monthly event. “If people become a little conscious on their own, try segregating waste, plan to send out kitchen waste to Badwal and dry waste to me (in a clean, dignified way), more than half of the problem will get solved. I have already been holding drives to collect clothing and usable items for another NGO Goonj,” she said.

Badwal, who hails from Jalandhar, has already been running a waste-to-manure recycling set-up in Dasuya since July. His efforts have helped Dasuya reach the Top 10 spot in the Swachh Survekshan 2022 held for urban local bodies. “I have set up my own plant there. I have even distributed two-colour bins in some localities there. I have my own staff, which collects segregated waste and takes Rs 100 for each household,” he explained.

He added, “In Jalandhar, my company Acme Engineering has been engaged in collecting waste from the Jain Colony and the Maharaja Garden. I have also been collecting waste from hotels for composting but the MC is insisting that they set up their own plants. They prefer outsourced service like ours.”

He further said, “Having been in this start-up for nearly a year and a half now, I think I can handle the MC dumping sites at Birring, Model Town and Pholariwal.”