Residents have to segregate wet, dry waste from Monday: NMMC

STRICT IMPLEMENTATION Civic body has distributed 16,600 bins; workers will not collect garbage if it is not segregated

NAVI MUMBAI: If you don’t segregate waste from Monday, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will refuse to collect the garbage.

As per a circular issued by the NMMC, it is mandatory for all housing societies, industries and hotels to separate wet (biodegradable) and dry (recyclable) waste before handing it over to the municipal staff, said Tushar Pawar, deputy municipal commissioner, solid waste management department.

It was to be implemented from May 25 but officials said it had been extended because many societies did not get the circular on time.

“The circular was distributed late in some of the nodes, hence we have given some more time to the housing societies and other establishments to organise their garbage segregation process,” said Pawar.

“From next week onwards, we will strictly implement it and refuse to collect waste if is not segregated. We will note down the details of places where it is not segregated and give residents a warning,” he added.

The civic body has provided waste bins in two colours: green for wet or biodegradable waste and blue for dry waste to facilitate segregation.

The civic body had distributed 16,600 bins from January to February this year.

Officials said only a few housing societies have been segregating dry and wet waste.

“Separate fibre bins have been kept for wet and dry garbage in blue and green of 120-litre and 240-litre capacity outside societies. Metal bins of 1,100-litres have been kept in public areas to collect waste. It has been observed that people still mix the trash and only 10% follow the rule,” said Pawar.

Residential societies said that the provision of separate bins for garbage is a good initiative by the NMMC.

“We had a meeting with the solid waste department officials last year and have been segregating dry and waste for many months now. Residents have been told to separate the waste at home itself,” said Naresh Joshi, 39, resident of Moraj Residency, Sanpada.