Waste segregation to begin at source in all 144 KMC wards

KOLKATA: In a significant stride towards solid waste management, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will start waste segregation at source in all 144 wards in the city from December 1. Presently, this practice is prevalent in 27 wards in the city.

Every single family in the city will be provided with two buckets — one green and another blue. KMC will be distributing 38 lakh buckets and bins of two different colours which will be placed at strategic locations in every ward to dissuade citizens from indulging in indiscriminate littering.

"We will hold workshops on November 29 and 30 with the councillors at our headquarters and inform them about their role in creating awareness among the local people on the use of these two separate buckets. The citizens will have to dump wet decayable waste at the green one and the blue one will be used for non — decayable, recyclable waste," a senior official of KMC's Soild Waste Management department said.

Councillors from Borough I to VII will attend the workshop on Tuesday while those from VIII to XVI will do so on Wednesday. They will have to host street corner meetings in their respective wards for causing awareness among the citizens.

The buckets, which will be given to residents, will be of 10 litres capacity while those which will be given to the waste collectors will be of 40 litres capacity. The bins, which will be placed at strategic locations in different wards, will be large ones of 240 litres capacity.

It has often been found that residents who are offered two different buckets use them for other purposes rather than dumping waste. The residents will also be made aware so that they use the same for the desired purpose by involving the councillors.

The conservancy workers involved in the door-to-door collection will also be sensitized so that they stick to the scientific method of waste collection with segregation being done right at the source.