Citizens adopt PMC green slogan,pay extra for it

In Pune,there are two systems for garbage collection. One is the ‘Ghanta Gadi’ that goes to housing societies and citizens to collect garbage. The other is run by SwaCH,a cooperative society run by ragpickers,who collect garbage by going door-to-door and then dumps it into PMC trucks. These ragpickers are paid by citizens and not by the PMC.

Anil Gaikwad of Vasundhara Swatchata Abhiyan,who has been working for 20 years towards making Pune a clean city,says,“It is a complex issue. I have personally met many residents of Pashan,Baner and Someshwarwadi and persuaded them to pay Rs 10 to ragpicker who collect garden waste. But many resident refuse to pay and burn the waste or dump somewhere.”

Shabana Diler,GM of Operations,SwaCH,says,“Collection of garden waste is not our responsibilty,neither do we have the capability at SWaCH to do it right now. We are dependent on PMC machinery for disposal of the waste. We deposit waste in their vehicles.”

PMC official claim that they have a separate van for garden waste collection and citizens can avail of its services by calling a phone number. But many feel that the system is not adequate for a city as big as Pune.

“The system is not adequate for the disposal of garden waste,” says Diler,“ The solution to this problem is to have a shredder and compost making system at each ward,so that garden waste is disposed of and utilised in that area only.”

Suresh Jagtap,solid waste management chief,PMC said,”At present,we have three working shredders at three different gardens where green waste is shredded and converted into compost to use in PMC gardens.”