BMC plans app-based service for dry waste

Civic body feels move will encourage segregation

One can give any kind of dry waste to the service provider and they will collect it without demur, unlike scrap dealers or shopkeepers. Moreover, ragpickers can also give their scrap to these service providers in bulk qualities and earn money

Booking a service for dry waste pick-up at your doorstep can one day become as simple as hailing an Ola or Uber from your phone. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to set up an app-based service which will collect dry waste from houses and commercial establishments, apart from the regular collection, and make spot payments to them.

A senior civic official from the Solid Waste Management department said, on condition of anonymity, said the app would encourage people to segregate dry and wet waste. "One can give any kind of dry waste to the service provider and they will collect it without demur, unlike scrap dealers or shopkeepers. Moreover, ragpickers can also give their scrap to these service providers in bulk qualities and earn money," the officer added.

BMC will specify the price per kilogramme of dry waste, so people can determine the rates while selling the material to the service provider and it will help maintain transparency. All vehicles will have inbuilt Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) to monitor the vehicles.

The user will have to download this handy app and book a dry waste collection service vehicle, which will then arrive at their doorstep. The service provider will then weigh the scrap, pay the money and cart away the stuff.

The appointed service provider must be equipped with their vehicles and workers. All the BMC will do is inform them about the place where a pick-up is scheduled. "Currently, Expression Of Interest (EIO) has been invited from interested bidders to check what changes can be made and new suggestions can be incorporated before inviting the final tenders. The EIO will help us understand us what the bidders expect -- do they find the initiative result-oriented, cost effective or not. Accordingly, the plan will be taken forward," said the official.

So far, there was no mechanism in place to process collected dry waste. With the app-based waste management service, the collected scrap can be recycled by the service provider.