No segregation, no collection, says BBMP

Bengaluru: The BBMP has been trying hard for the last six years to implement segregation of waste at source. In 2012, when it was introduced, there was a widespread awareness campaign across the city. But soon after, Palike officials lost interest and residents did not bother to segregate garbage at source.

BBMP Special Commissioner for Solid Waste Management Randeep took to Twitter to say that the civic body will soon stop collecting unsegregated waste. He went on to say that households that do not segregate may have to pay penalties.

Segregation at source has never crossed even the 50 percent mark. The city generates around 3,500 tonnes of garbage every day and during festivals, it crosses 5,000 tonnes.

A senior BBMP official said, "As the garbage crisis had reached its peak, we introduced the concept of segregation at source in 2012. A wide range of activities followed and officials up to the rank of joint commissioners visited their zones to see if citizens are handing over segregated garbage. But when top officers are transferred and new ones come in, priorities change. Some of the officials who tried to improve the segregation percentage and weed out illegalities in the solid waste management were transferred immediately by the garbage mafia."

He said, "Time has come again to lay stress on segregation at source. That is the future. No one wishes to have garbage of others at their backyard. With segregation the amount of garbage reaching landfills can be brought down."

Soon, the BBMP will go on the top gear to implement garbage segregation at source. "We will stop collecting garbage which isn't segregated. If penalties are the only way to get people to do the job, we are ready for that too," he asserted.