Despite efforts, Ludhiana MC fails in waste segregation

Despite awareness campaigns and other initiatives, the municipal corporation in the city has fallen short of its efforts to segregate dray and wet waste, both at households and secondary dumping points.

In 2021, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) monitoring committee had pulled up the civic body for its failure to enforce waste segregation at its source within the city.

While MC officials have conducted awareness campaigns in the past, they have not succeeded in implementing segregation at MC garbage dumping sites, including Rishi Nagar, Bhai Chattar Singh Park, and Middha Chowk among others.

The MC has cited a private firm responsible for garbage collection for not properly segregating waste, leading to environmental problems. Although the MC, along with the private firm, initiated a drive to distribute bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste collection in 2014, the effort was halted on the same day due to poor bin quality.

Similar efforts were taken in 2017 during World Environment Day to promote waste segregation where MC appealed to the residents to segregate waste before throwing it into the bin, but it remained unsuccessful. Currently, non-segregated waste, including banned polythene bags, broken glass, bulbs, chemicals, and biomedical waste, is frequently collected and dumped at secondary points in the city.

Ritu Malhan, an environmentalist, emphasised the need for proper waste management, stating that around 1,100 metric tonnes of waste is generated in Ludhiana, with only about only 250 metric tonnes being processed by the MC and rest of the waste is being dumped at a particular site.

She suggested that training for converting wet waste into compost and finding innovative uses for citrus waste, such as making deodorants, hand sanitisers, and more should be organised for the citizens by the authorities.

She asked the MC to provide clear instructions to citizens on waste segregation and also impose challans against violators.

The municipal corporation has also struggled with waste processing and legacy waste management at its primary garbage dumping site near Kakka village.

An MC official from the health branch department on requesting anonymity stated that hundreds of metric tonnes of dry and wet waste is being dumped at different sites which can be recycled with different things.

MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, “We are planning to conduct awareness drives to educate people about segregating waste for garbage collection. We are also going to issue instructions to the garbage collectors in this regard. We are in process to install 37 compactors in various locations of the city, with 22 sites to be completed in the coming months. We are in process to launch a campaign against those who do not segregate waste and will place wet and dry bins at different markets throughout the city to bring awareness among residents.”