29/06/2017
PUNE: Space crunch
and plot owners' reluctance to supply power to run bottle crushers have
crushed the civic body's dream to install the gadget across the city to convert
plastic waste into useful material.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had planned to install
these machines in 20 locations. A year on, only three machines have been set
up. Of them, the one installed at the corporation head office has been removed
because of the cost factor.
A source at the PMC's solid waste management department said,
"There were plans to install the machines at different locations,
especially at the airport and railway stations. But it did not work out. The
availability of land has become an issue. Also, the organizations owning the
land have to supply electricity to run the bottle crushers."
Suresh Jagtap, the head of PMC's solid waste management department, said,
"There are some technical issues. We are working to sort them out. Few
more machines will be installed in the days to come." Rewind to the bottle
crusher removed from the PMC head office. The civic body found the fees
demanded by the company installing the gadget too hefty.
S C N Jatar, the founder of Nagari Chetana Manch, a citizens' group, said,
"The whole priority list to carry out the smart city projects should be
reviewed. Projects such as bottle crushing units should be taken up after
resolving all the key issues related to garbage processing."
Recycling plastic waste was one of 15 projects launched as a
part of the Smart Cities Mission initiative in 2016. "The PMC proposes
incentives and motivates its citizens to segregate plastic waste at source and
collect segregated plastic waste through the waste pickers' door-to-door
collection system," the proposal had stated.
The civic body has started some plastic bottle collection
centres, where containers are fitted. According to the civic officials, the
collection system is getting good response from the residents of the city as
well as tourists.
According to the target, a total of 200 collection points were
to be developed. But hardly 50 have been introduced so far.The PMC has taken
the initiative of setting up plastic recycling units across the city in phases.
According to the civic officials, the civic body's objective
to start these units is to ensure maximum plastic trash is recycled instead of
being dumped at public places or garbage bins. Every unit being installed in
the city is slated to have the capacity to process about 8,000 bottles a day.Officials
in the civic body stressed plastic bottles formed a major part of waste in the
city. About 15% of the total waste generated in the city is plastic.
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