MARGAO: Segregated waste collection is yet to take off in Margao even though more than a month and a half has passed since it was supposed to take off on February 1, 2019 and Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Dr Babita Prabhudessai has now directed officials to start it at least in three wards on trial basis.
There is considerable improvement in the door-to-door collection at present with some of the workers collecting dry and wet waste separately and transporting it separately to the transfer stations. However, the main problem is that households do not give segregated waste.
“Most of the waste that comes from households is mixed waste and if we do not take it then the people will dump it by the roadside which cause further problems,” said Assistant Engineer Agostinho Mesquita who is looking after garbage management.
While waste from households can be managed to some extent, it is waste from commercial establishments like the chicken and vegetable vendors that is difficult to handle as they mix the wet waste with dry waste including plastic.
The garbage collecting vans including compactors just take whatever waste is given by the vendors and dump it in their vehicles which is then compacted making it an arduous task for the municipal works to segregate it at Sonsoddo.
Ironically, even medical waste is dumped in these bins and nobody bothers to collect this medical waste. Recently one labourer had to be hospitalized and could not work for more than a month after his finger got infected after it was pricked by a needle when segregating the waste.
However, Dr Babita had a different opinion and said the workers should not accept the mixed waste and put their foot down. “Only when the people realize that mixed waste will not be accepted will they start segregating waste,” she said.
The awareness campaign that was supposed to take off in the city is yet to begin and this is because the various material that was ordered by MMC has not yet been delivered. “The pamphlets, stickers, banners and audio visual presentations that were supposed to be used for the awareness programmes are yet to arrive with the council,” pointed out one sanitary worker.
As for the councilors they are still waiting for the bins to be delivered so that they can visit households to give the separate bins for dry and wet waste and then educated the people on garbage segregation at source.
“Goa State Urban Development Corporation was after us in the beginning of the year to start segregated waste collection and had promised to provide the bins, which however are yet to arrive,” said Dr Babita while disclosing that all officials of GSUDA and Goa Solid Waste Management Corporation keep assuring that they will send the bins fast.
MMC has asked for 25,000 bins of 10 lt capacity to be distributed to the households and around 1,200 bins of 50 lts to 240 lts capacity to be provided to the 651 housing societies. As these bins too have not been received the housing societies cannot give their segregated waste in a proper manner.
