Hand over waste in bio-bags, traders told

Meetings to be held with traders at zone level

ORDERLY DISPOSAL:The Coimbatore Corporation wants traders to store waste, especially generated in meat stalls, in bio-degradable bags and then handed over to the conservancy workers of the civic body. - PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

COIMBATORE: Following up on the clean city drive, specifically for the World Classical Tamil Conference, the Corporation plans to rid the commercial areas in the city and places where shops are located in residential colonies of garbage.

The civic body has made a fresh appeal to traders to store waste only in bio-bags (biodegradable bags) and not dump it along roads, into the drainage or in open spaces such as reserved sites.

“We spoke to the traders on Thursday on the need to use the bio-bags. They were asked to store the waste in these bags and hand these over to the Corporation’s conservancy workers,” Mayor R. Venkatachalam said.

Apart from the usual garbage removal at 6 a.m. across the city, another shift at 9 a.m. would be introduced specially for the traders.

New shift

The Mayor said the shops, especially the ones that sold fish and meat, would not have much waste as early as 6 a.m. Therefore, the new shift would be introduced.

“Unless we put in place a disposal system that meets their needs, the traders also may find it difficult to adhere to the Corporation’s orders. At the same time, the traders will have to go by the system once it is in place,” the Mayor said.

“In order to spread the message wider, we plan to hold meetings with traders at the zone level, involving the Mayor, Corporation Commissioner, Deputy Mayor, Health Committee Chairman and other officials, he said.

From THE HINDU

150 people fined for throwing plastic bags in drains

Cracking the whip on all those throwing plastic bags in drains, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has fined nearly 150 people and collected a fine of Rs 1.32 lakh in a fortnight.

After having learnt lessons from July 26 deluge, when plastic bags had blocked drains and led to flooding in the metropolis, the civic body has formed two ‘plastic ban’ squads consisting of six people.

“We have collected a fine of Rs 1.32 lakh from 146 people who were caught throwing plastic in drains in the last 12-13 days. These people are largely hawkers and shopkeepers,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner Rajendra Bhosale told PTI here.

On June 11, Municipal Commissioner Swadhin Kshatriya had announced that anyone caught throwing plastic, thermocol and other items during monsoon will have to pay fine ranging from Rs 100-5,000.

“These cases are mostly from eastern suburbs like Kurla, Mulund, Chembur, Govandi and others followed by western suburbs and the island city,” Bhosale said.

Drain clogging had led to massive flooding on July 26, 2005 forcing the state government to contemplate banning polythene bags.

As per the Maharashtra Non-biodegradable Garbage Control Act, the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags must be 50 micron and their size should be no less than 8×12 inches.

From Hindustan Times

‘City Clean Campaign’ in July

To remove plastic waste within Nellai Corporation limits

TIRUNELVELI: Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, which has identified 124 places under its jurisdiction where ‘waste plastic mounds’ have been created by its residents, has decided to involve its entire workforce along with volunteers drawn from schools and colleges in its ‘City Clean Campaign’ to remove this highly hazardous materials to be destroyed safely.

Laid waste:Plastic waste dumped in the irrigation channel taking water to Nainarkulam near Lala Chatra corner in Tirunelveli town. Photo: A_Shaikmohideen

After the district administration and the Department of Environment decided to impose a ban on the production, sale and use of non-recyclable non-degradable plastic materials, particularly, plastic bags, serious steps were initiated to clean up the already piled up plastic wastes by involving India Cements Limited (ICL) in this noble exercise.

As per the memorandum of understanding signed with ICL, the urban local bodies of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Nagercoil should collect the plastic wastes being generated in their respective areas and send it in the lorries to the premises of cement manufacturing unit, where the hazardous non-degradable materials would be finely shredded to be used as supplement fuel along with the regular fuel, coal.

Modifications

Subsequently, the ICL management spent over Rs. 1 crore for making some modifications in the machineries and installed equipment to make this process effective.

Even as this exercise is going on, the corporation has planned to put an end to the creation of plastic heaps under its jurisdiction while cleaning the existing stacks of plastics.

As per this new initiative, the plastic waste dumped at 124 places in various places under the Corporation will be removed during the ‘City Clean Campaign’ to be jointly organised by its 700-odd conservancy workers and over 1,800 students and volunteers drawn from various schools, colleges and also from the residents’ welfare associations.

“This camp will be conducted in the first week of July on a particular day simultaneously across the corporation to clean the plastic hillocks. After the conduct of this campaign, we’ll initiate very stern action against those who produce, sell and use the non-degradable plastic products as production, sale and use of these hazardous materials within corporation limits have been banned. Residents should hand over plastic waste only to the conservancy workers hereafter,” said Commissioner N. Subbaian.

From THE HINDU

Plastic bag use takes a big plunge

Mumbai The civic body has recorded a drop in the number of plastic bags, less than 50 microns thick, seized in the past six months. “There is an over 70 per cent drop in the cases of plastic bags seized by the 27 squads of the BMC. Since January the number of cases has come down drastically,” said deputy municipal commissioner R B Bhosale. In January 2,873 cases were recorded. The number dipped to 940 in May and reached 624 in June. This year the civic body has penalised 7,979 for using plastic bags thinner than 50 microns. The BMC has collected over Rs 32 lakh as fine. In June Rs 2.82 lakh was collected, Bhosale said.

“The drop seems to have taken place as there is more awareness and alertness among shopkeepers and hawkers,” said Bhosale. Stringent action against offenders is also a reason for the drop, he added.

The BMC has one squad in each ward and three other special squads across the city for penalising those who use plastic bags below 50 microns. In January leaders of all parties in the BMC had decided to make a formal proposal to the state government for a complete ban on plastic bags in Mumbai.

“We had written to the state government regarding 100 per cent ban on plastic bags but the proposal is still pending,” said Shiv Sena leader in the BMC Sunil Prabhu. Plastic bags thinner than 50 microns were banned after the July 26, 2005, deluge as they were considered one of the main reasons for choking drains.

Sharvari Patwa – Express India

Despite ban, plastic bags still clog airports, railway stations

New Delhi There might be a ban on plastic bags in the city, but they form about a third of the huge mountains of plastic waste generated by the three main railway stations and two airports in the Capital every day.

The figures are staggering. A Central Pollution Control Committee (CPCB) study has found that while Hazrat Nizamuddin, Old Delhi and New Delhi railway stations together churn out at least 6,758 kg of plastic waste every day, the international and domestic airports are not far behind with 3,662 kg per day.

But a closer look reveals that the density of waste generation is more at the airports. While the per capita plastics waste generation is approximately 9 gm/day at the railway stations, it is a high 69 gm/day at the airports. Despite the ban on plastic bags in the Capital, they form 30 per cent of the waste in the railway stations, the major chunk being plastic bottles. However, they form just 10 per cent of the waste generated at the airports, most probably because the shops inside enforce the ban on plastic bags. The main generators of plastic waste at the airports are the caterers, found the study.

“We found lots of plastic bags in the waste. This maybe because passengers coming from other parts of the country do not know the rules here. It the responsibility of the airports and railway stations to make this known,” says CPCB chairman S P Gautam.

But it is not just the passengers who are at fault. A random check revealed that plastic bags are being freely used at the airports and railway stations despite the Rs 1-lakh penalty on those flouting the ban.

But the major problem is plastic bottles. The CPCB now thinks proper waste disposal channels are necessary to get rid of them. “Given the quantity of waste being generated, we have recommended that the plastic be properly used. Ideally, it should be incinerated in cement kilns or used in making roads. Proper channels have to be made for re-use of waste, there is no other way. This is part of our recommendations,” he says.

From Express India