Scientific disposal of non-veg waste still a distant dream

The manner in which meat and fish remains from butcher shops is being discarded has been a common concern for the twin-city. However, thanks to the apathy of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) a solution to tackle the issue is nowhere in sight.

Rotting remains of meat and fish generated from local butcheries, live poultry shops and sea shores are mixed with piles of vegetables and other waste material are ferried to the dumping yard at Dhavgi village in Uttan.

This is despite guidelines under the Municipal Solid Wastes Rules, which mandates at-source segregation of dry and wet garbage. Moreover, the MSW rules disallows such waste to be mixed with the municipal waste as it should be carried separately.

“Like bio-medical waste, it is the need of the hour to set up a mechanism to segregate meat and fish remains in an effective and time-bound manner,” said BJP leader Rohidas Patil who has asked the civic authorities to make budgetary allocation of Rs 2 crore for this purpose in the current fiscal.

Apart from 10 tonnes of industrial and bio medical waste, the twin-city generates around 450 metric tones per day which comprises a large chunk of meat and fish waste which if not disposed properly rots and emits a foul smell. However, unmindful of the ill-effects on the environment and subsequent health hazard, MBMC-deputed contractors have been off-loading tonnes of garbage on the hillocks near the waste process plant leading to alarming levels of water and air pollution. Interestingly the Ministry of Environment has incorporated several processes in MSW rules like rendering, controlled incineration, burial composting and anaerobic digestion to get rid of the non-veg waste.