Visakhapatnam is No. 1 in garbage disposal

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam district has achieved the distinction of being Number One in the state in terms of efficient garbage disposal. Key performance indicators that enable an urban local body to be graded thus are the percentage of garbage lifted and its scientific disposal. Uncollected waste typically tends to end up clogging drains or is strewn along roads, posing a health hazard, harbouring mosquitoes and attracting rats while bio-degradable waste putrefies and degrades over time.

Efficient garbage collection is, therefore, a key performance indicator with a benchmark value of 100 per cent. In 2015-16, about 3,09,633 metric tonnes of garbage was lifted from the municipalities and corporations of Visakhapatnam district, the highest among all the districts of the state. It was evident that the measures that the GVMC had meticulously taken in managing solid waste had helped the district bag this distinction. In April 2016, the municipal staff aggregated about 33,727 metric tonnes (99.96 per cent) of garbage in Visakhapatnam district against the target of 33,741 metric tonnes.

Nellore was ranked the least performing district in April 2016, having collected only about 35 per cent of the targeted garbage. Kadapa district also fared poorly on the garbage lifting efficiency stakes, sourcing only 55 per cent of the targeted garbage in April 2016. Disposal, which comes next, is also an issue needing to be addressed as most of the garbage collected from homes is dumped in landfills.

As per the projections, the quantum of household garbage is likely to double in the next 10 years and alternatives, such as waste-to-energy plants, have to be found. A GVMC official said, “We have already entered into an MoU with the Jindal Group to establish a 15 MW waste-to-energy plant, which will further improve the city’s cleanliness and sound solid waste management.”