VISAKHAPATNAM: After the Port City was declared the third cleanest in the country during the Swachh Survekshan-2017 and the city railway station the second cleanest, the GVMC authorities are gearing up to implement the segregation of waste at source, among the best practices of Solid Waste Management (SWM).
The segregation of dry and wet waste in all the 72 wards will commence on June 5, marking the World Environment Day, says GVMC commissioner M Hari Narayanan.
As part of the beautification drive, as many as 150 new street dustbins were installed in the city during the beginning of the year and a few compactor bins have also been installed in the Zone I, II and III recently. Since a lot of biodegradable waste is generated from the vegetable and fruit markets, six organic waste converters are expected to be installed shortly.
“The process of segregation of waste in all the wards will be implemented in phases. The target is to ensure that 100 per cent source segregation of waste is done in the entire city.
With the support from the resident welfare associations (RWAs), we aim at promoting solid waste management,” the commissioner said, adding that the citizens would play an active role in making the city a much cleaner and greener place.
The usual practice of disposing of all the waste together has to be changed. Biodegradable, non-biodegradable and bio-medical waste are being dumped together now, making it difficult for their processing. Further, burning of waste releases poisonous gases like methane.
“If segregated at the source itself, biodegradable waste can be processed and non-biodegradables can be treated separately,” said Adari Kishore who has been campaigning for Swachh Bharath for the past 100 days by reaching out to masses.
“The need of the hour is to reach out to educational institutions, corporates and hospitals to spread awareness. A little care makes a lot of difference,” he added. With the support of CitYzen (CSR arm of Fluentgrid company) and the GVMC, a video ‘Our waste, our responsibility’ made by The Andhra Pradesh Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (APFERWAS) on segregating waste was released on Monday to create awareness among people.
The video which is in Telugu has subtitles in English and has already elicited around 400 views. It emphasises the importance of segregating waste at every household.
How it works
Every household and apartments to have separate bins
Green bin is for vegetable and fruit scraps, rotten or perished vegetable and fruits.
Thermocols, plastic bottles and covers, bulbs, cardboards and electrical waste to be dumped in blue bin
Waste like sanitary napkins, diapers, used cotton, band-aids to be wrapped in a newspaper with a red cross before dumping in blue bin
Wastes like injections, blades, and razors to be given to waste collectors