Waste segregation to kick off in NCR, Indore from Monday

In a major initiative on the urban environment front that combines waste management, the government will on Monday launch a programme of solid waste segregation at source in the National Capital Region, an official said.

"Solid waste management in Delhi, besides Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, is set to turn a new page tomorrow (Monday) with the launch of segregation of municipal solid waste at source like households, hotels, restaurants etc.

"Henceforth, wet waste will be collected in Green bins and dry waste in Blue bins," a Union Urban Development Ministry statement said here on Sunday.

"Launch of waste segregation at source is being done in the backdrop of 145 Waste-to-Compost plants becoming functional across the country, increasing compost production from 1.50 lakh tonnes in March, 2016 to 13.13 lakh tonnes at present," it said.

Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will launch the waste segregation programme in the NCR on Monday covering nine urban local bodies by flagging off segregated waste collection vehicles, the statement added.

He will also launch the programme in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

The ministry said this new solid waste management initiative under the Clean India programme will be launched in 130 cities where waste-to-compost plants are either functional or under construction.

"Another 150 compost-making plants are under construction with total compost production capacity of 95 lakh tonnes per year," it said

About 15,000 tonnes of solid waste is being generated every day in the National Capital Region, while about 65 million tonnes of such waste is produced every day in urban areas of the country, it said.

"Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is the only city so far to have ensured 100 per cent segregation of solid waste at source," it added

According to the government, while 100 per cent door-to-door collection and transport of solid waste has been achieved in over 41,000 of the total 81,000 urban wards in the country, processing of such waste is only about 22 per cent.

--IANS

bc/dg