Baranagar Municipality ensures efficient solid waste management

Kolkata: The Baranagar Municipality has taken a significant stride in solid waste management with a focus on segregation at source.

The Municipality has already kicked off the process of providing two separate bins to every household and had urged them to dump bio-degradable and non-bio degradable waste separately in these two bins.

"The state policy and strategy based on Solid Waste Management Rules (2016) framed by the Ministry of Environment & Forest has already been prepared. We are taking all possible steps to ensure efficient garbage collection, transportation and disposal of wastes, which is one of the most important function of all urban local bodies," said Aparna Moulik, chairman of Baranagar Municipality.

Moulik added that the process of providing separate bins to every household in the 34 wards will be completed in three to four months' time. The municipality has 20 collection centres in its jurisdictional area where the collectors assemble all the wastes after garbage collection from households. From there, the wastes are sent to the dumping ground adjacent to Belgharia Express way, where land has been allocated by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) for dumping waste. "KMDA has taken up a project of converting the bio-degradable waste into organic fertilizer," a senior official of the municipality said.

It may be mentioned that bio-degradable wastes include human and animal waste like plant products, wood paper, food waste, leaves, grass clippings etc.

Non-biodegradable waste includes aluminum cans, bottles, plastic products, metal scraps, glass shards, grocery bags or plastic bags etc.

Presently, apart from Baranagar, the site is being used by Dum Dum, North Dum Dum, South Dum Dum and Kamarhati Municipality for dumping of wastes.

"We have already made noticeable progress when it comes to replacement of open vats in our area by introducing daily door to door garbage collection system. We are hopeful that in a year's time, we will replace all open vats," Moulik said.

The Municipality has taken up awareness campaigns at market places to curb the use of plastic and a large number of shops have already shunned plastic below 50 micron and introduced alternative means for delivering articles to customers. "We are also urging people to carry a bag at the time they visit the market," a senior official said.