Soon: Waste segregation to be mandatory for residents
LMC to launch massive awareness campaign from June 5
LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) will soon make segregation of waste at source mandatory for residents. An awareness campaign in this regard would be launched all over city from June 5.
With this initiative, the municipal corporation intends to end supply of unsegregated waste to Shivri landfill site. In the days to come, LMC would distribute two dustbins (green and red) to residents and make them aware as to what waste would be dumped in which bin. Resident associations, school kids and civic officials exchanged their views on the issue in a workshop held at the LMC office on Wednesday.
Rachna Singhvani, officer from union ministry of urban development New Delhi, addressed students, resident welfare association members and officials over the issue.
“Segregation of waste at source benefits everybody and solves half the city’s problem of waste management. Moreover, it costs nothing and takes hardly any extra time of any individual,” she said. “Waste segregation is more a matter of understanding and responsible civic behavior,” she emphasised. Singhvani added, “Leftover vegetables, unconsumed food, fruits, flowers, meat and bones are bio-degradable and known as wet wastes. Used battery cells, paint boxes, chemicals, pesticides, used syringes, unused and outdated medicines, polythene, plastic and so on are hazardous inorganic waste.” Plastic in waste, if not incinerated at landfill site, could lead to release of toxic dioxins while household waste, if not segregated (e.g. spent batteries), could result in contaminated compost, said Singhvani.
Students of City Montessori School (Rajendra Nagar branch) wrote slogans and drew paintings to highlight the importance of waste segregation at source. All students were given prizes by acting mayor Suresh Awasthi.
Municipal commissioner Udairaj Singh, additional municipal commissioner PK Srivastava, a number of corporators, members of resident welfare societies, NGOs were present on the occasion. Later in the day, Rachna Singhvani along with environment engineer Pankaj Bhushan visited the Shivri plant, where she watched compost units for treatment of waste.