#PCMCLeads: Sorry, But Wet Waste Is Now Your Problem!

Data revealed by the Ministry Of New and Renewable Energy in the year 2017 shared that Maharashtra ranked first in generating solid waste and is generating 26820 metric tonnes of waste every day.

Pune alone generates 1500 tonnes of solid waste including 500 tonnes from PCMC on a daily basis. 

The governing bodies of PCMC (Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation) have already started issuing notices to all housing societies, marriage halls, schools, hostels, colleges and restaurants to adhere to the guidelines of solid waste management and segregate and process their own wet waste in their premises.

Speaking to Pune365 Dilip Gawade, Additional Commissioner, PCMC says “According to the solid waste management act- 2016, the rule will be implemented in the city from the beginning of September.

The deadline has already been extended from April to September, as the societies were not prepared.

Many societies in Pimple Saudagar, Wakad, Dighi and Bhosari have already started composting their own wet waste. However, there are still thousands of societies that which need to come up with a solution to handle their daily waste.

If the restaurants in PCMC do not find a solution for their wet waste, they will need to pay separately for the collection at a cost that is yet to be decided. Industrial waste will also be picked by separate garbage vans if requested for by the industries. This will be on chargeable basis too.

Gawade further adds that as a consequence of the implementation of no wet garbage collection, there would definitely be a rise in the menace of garbage burning by the societies, restaurants etc. This will however attract fines ranging from Rs 2000 upwards depending on the quantum of garbage.

Citizens who notice anyone burning or dumping wet garbage are encouraged to report this though a call / WhatsApp on the Sarthi-Helpline and necessary action will be taken by the authority. 

Manoj Lonkar, Health executive officer, Health department, PCMC says “This rule is implemented for all the societies, restaurants, marriage halls, hostels, schools, colleges and commercial complexes which generate more than or upto 100 kilograms of garbage.

PCMC has implemented this rule under the guidelines of the State and Central government. While this was to come into force in December 2017, it was further extended till May 2018 as the citizens were not able to come up with solutions to deal with their wet garbage.

The governing bodies had conducted an exhibition for three days at Auto Cluster where they provided an indirect solution to housing societies for their wet-waste and garbage.

Lonkar further added that they have given enough time to the societies to come up with solutions for their wet garbage but now, the department will no longer be responsible for the wet waste generated in their societies.

Atul Deshpande, Resident of PCMC says, “This was a much needed move that is now getting implemented in the city.

Our society and most of the neighbouring societies have already seen the change and we have started composting our own waste in our homes.

However, most of the residents mainly from the IT industry have declined to compost within their homes. Currently, their wet waste is composted in the society garden by the staff and these residents are charged extra maintenance fees.

Since the society members have taken to home composting, we’re actually saving on paying for garbage vans. This additional saving will be used for installing a composting unit in the society premises itself.

Thanks to the exhibition conducted by PCMC, we got the necessary know how for the home composting process and unit, Deshpande added.

PCMC restaurateur Shubham however believes that this is an impractical decision taken by the government.

The composting units cannot be placed in front of the restaurants nor in the backyard, as the smell of the garbage will affect business. So far we have been paying taxes to the government for various reasons and waste is a part of it, then why should we pay seperately for this now?

It is their responsibility to install centralised plants for everyone to dump their wet waste, quips Shubham.

Kalinda Kamble, Housewife, “PCMC has already started with this and for the past two days, there has been no collection of wet waste from our society.

The notice was already sent to societies in the first week of August and as of now, we have started composting our own waste and soon the society is planning to get a composting unit.

Subodh Kumbhar, Mpsc aspirant says, “I stay in a rented apartment with four of my friends and we have a cook. We don’t generate more than 100- 150 grams of wet waste but our society has no composting unit. How and where are we supposed to dump this wet waste?

We can’t compost it in the house as we don’t have any plants and nothing to nurture the compost. The need is genuine, but the solution to it isn’t, Kumbhar added.

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#All views expressed in this column are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.