City can battle trash but fight needs coordination, say experts | Pune News
A lot can be done to tackle Pune’s garbage crisisexperts TOI spoke to said. Hamsa Iyer, a solid waste management expert, said India already has the right legislations in place. “We just need to put parts of the jigsaw puzzle together. From composting at source, to recycling management, we need a lot of effort to get our act together,” she said.
Iyer said a lack of “stakeholdersync” has weakened Pune’s battle against garbage. “This is usually what happens in the city. The civic bodies simply notify bulk waste generators, which include housing societies, to start managing their trash at source. But people don’t know what has to be done next, in terms of technology orfinancial costs. Making a decision without the know-how becomes a challenge. ”
She added that there is still no coordinated effort by stakeholders in Pune. “We need to figure out how to bridge the gap and make it possible for housing societies to deal with their own wet waste. The shift from dumping to management is not an easy one. We need behavioural change too, where we want people consistently segregating waste day after day. To do this, we need to do more, and incentivise residents. ”
On civic accountability, Maithili Manakawad, secretary of National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC) said PMC has to ensure 100% door-to-door collection.
“And if this responsibility is offloaded to another agency, that agency must be held accountable and penalised if collection is not done regularly,” she said.
Manakawad said fines should be used where necessary.
“I don’t support hurting livelihoods of those going door-to-door to collect garbage. But we need accountability. Sometimes, even staff on PMC payroll don’t turn up to collect waste. It’s their job. In Wanowrie, for example, there has been no drop in the number of chronic garbage spots. That’s the result of bad collection. Authorities in Pune should work to resolve this issue,” she said.
Iyer said a lack of “stakeholdersync” has weakened Pune’s battle against garbage. “This is usually what happens in the city. The civic bodies simply notify bulk waste generators, which include housing societies, to start managing their trash at source. But people don’t know what has to be done next, in terms of technology orfinancial costs. Making a decision without the know-how becomes a challenge. ”
She added that there is still no coordinated effort by stakeholders in Pune. “We need to figure out how to bridge the gap and make it possible for housing societies to deal with their own wet waste. The shift from dumping to management is not an easy one. We need behavioural change too, where we want people consistently segregating waste day after day. To do this, we need to do more, and incentivise residents. ”
On civic accountability, Maithili Manakawad, secretary of National Society for Clean Cities (NSCC) said PMC has to ensure 100% door-to-door collection.
“And if this responsibility is offloaded to another agency, that agency must be held accountable and penalised if collection is not done regularly,” she said.
Manakawad said fines should be used where necessary.
“I don’t support hurting livelihoods of those going door-to-door to collect garbage. But we need accountability. Sometimes, even staff on PMC payroll don’t turn up to collect waste. It’s their job. In Wanowrie, for example, there has been no drop in the number of chronic garbage spots. That’s the result of bad collection. Authorities in Pune should work to resolve this issue,” she said.
