BENGALURU: By aggressively curbing the use of single-use plastics, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) is aiming to achieve two major goals with one move -- cut down on plastic use, which is harmful to the environment and ends up in landfills, and curbing black spots in the city.
BWSML Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda said Bengaluru generates 500 tonnes of plastic waste every day, and they can recycle only 200 tonnes, so the remaining finds its way to landfills. He said litterbugs find it convenient to stuff their trash into plastic covers and dump it, and this can be checked with curbing plastic use.
“We have started clearing black spots in the city. In September, there were 869 black spots, and we got the number down to 150 and striving to bring it down. Through the drives, we found that litterbugs find it very convenient to stuff their garbage into single-use plastic covers and dispose it, creating black spots,” Gowda said.
By strictly enforcing single-use plastic ban, we can not only stop them from ending up in landfills, but also address the indiscriminate disposal of garbage in the city, creating black spots and bringing disrepute to the city, he explained.
Gowda said there are 27 assistant executive engineers (AEE), 200 marshals and 200 junior health inspectors. “All of them have been told to conduct raids in their wards five days a week, without fail. While AEEs have been asked to focus on wholesale dealers, others have been directed to raid retailers using single-use plastics,” he said.
He said there are many single-use plastic factories in Bengaluru, so the AEEs are targeting wholesale plastic dealers.