Visakhapatnam: Sustained efforts by civic authorities to get households and commercial entities segregate dry and wet waste appear to have failed, going by the poor response from the public.
Solid waste management rules have a provision of levying penalties on the households that do not segregate waste. However, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has not imposed any fines on the violators till now.
GVMC commissioner M. Harinarayanan has been insisting the resident welfare associations (RWAs) to mandate waste segregation at each dwelling. Several awareness drives were also conducted across the city, but to no avail.
“Two separate bins were not placed to dump dry and wet waste. Except throwing both in one bin, we have no option. Local curry point owners and hotel staff litter at the adjacent canals,” complained K. Santoshi, a resident of Akkayyapalem.
The municipality has not introduced separate dumpers; indications are that it wants to gradually discontinue the concept of dumper bins altogether. Sanitation workers collect the segregated waste at the doorstep in posh neighbourhoods at present.
Initially, the GVMC supplied green and blue dustbins in a few areas to collect dry and wet waste separately from the households. This was confined to only elite colonies, as these bins were being used for other purposes.
The lethargic approach of the civic body has led the RWAs to themselves arrange two drums in their premises to store the waste. Some of them have prepared compost pits to make use of the wet waste at public parks in the neighbourhood.
“Colonies like Kirlampudi Layout have started converting wet waste into compost for domestic usage. This is not the case for entire city,” said K.S.R. Murthy, secretary general of Confederation of RWAs and vice president of AP Federation of RWAs.
He said: “People in many areas of the city have not taken the responsibility to segregate waste. The GVMC takes the mixed waste and empties it in the dumping yard, without using it to prepare manure or recycle it.”
