The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will begin collection of plastic waste from four Wards on pilot basis.
BMC is responsible for restricting the use of non-biodegradable plastic in the City. Even though its Environment Section had proposed to devise a new mechanism for plastic waste management, the proposal is yet to take off.
Instead, the Corporation has decided to launch collection of plastic waste in four Wards on a pilot basis and then spread its area.
Collection and segregation is the most important aspect of processing the plastic waste.
For this purpose, BMC has decided to ask the sanitation contractors, engaged in the Wards 22, 37, 43 and 46, to assist them. BMC Environment Officer BK Routray said the sanitation contractors will be asked to assist in the pilot project. Since the contractors collect the entire garbage of the City, segregating plastic waste will be feasible for them.
The contractors have been asked to provide manpower. The segregation of the waste will also be done by the sanitation workers. Initially, the plastic waste will be collected from Saheed Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Janpath and a few other prime localities. Based on the pilot project, the poject will be extended to other areas.
BMC is currently a part of the special committee constituted to tackle the problem of non-biodegradable plastic waste.
The committee, set up by the State Government, has representatives from Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).
The committee is scheduled to meet on January, after which the complete road map for plastic waste management will be drafted.
The Corporation is still trying to create awareness about the blanket ban on the usage of non-biodegradable polythene. But no major progress has been made so far.
The ongoing campaign for BMC elections will add to the woes since most of the candidates have decorated the entire city with their party symbols and flags made of plastic. BMC officials said the decision to ban plastic flags, pamphlets and posters has to be taken by the State Government.