SAMBALPUR: Within around two months of its opening, the first Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (RRR) centre at Balibandha area in the city, set up by Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) with the objective to involve residents in waste management initiatives, is receiving an encouraging response.
The first permanent RRR centre in the city was set up on June 10 this year with the aim to minimize waste by collecting unused articles from residents and enable opportunities for reusing and recycling them. The materials, which can be reused, are segregated here and given to the people in need. Similarly, the recyclable materials, which are given by the people at the centre, are sent to the ‘wealth centres’ of the city which house micro-composting centres (MCC) and material recovery facility (MRF).
Enforcement officer of the SMC, Subhankar Mohanty said, “Many people are visiting the centre regularly to know about its operation. People are giving away several articles like clothes, shoes, crockery, books besides unused electronics equipment to reduce use.”
Mohanty said, “More than 80 people of the city have already given their unused articles at the centre. We are also planning to purchase a washing machine so that we can wash the clothes, given by the people, to make them suitable for distribution among the needy. Currently, the focus is on sensitizing residents about the functioning of the centre, so that more people come forward to give their unused items.”
An official of the SMC said, the wealth centres of the city receive around two truckloads of clothes before the Nuakhai and Dussehra every year. However, since the clothes are received in a very bad condition, reusability is a challenge. The establishment of RRR centre has raised some hope, as the clothes received at the RRR centre are in better condition, allowing for their effective reuse. The books, shoes and other items are also coming to the use of the poor people.