Aundh-Baner will bag sanitary waste separately in PMC’s pilot project

Residents of Pune who have been segregating dry and wet waste in their households, will soon have to add a third bag in their waste disposal system- an exclusive

Residents of Pune who have been segregating dry and wet waste in their households, will soon have to add a third bag in their waste disposal system- an exclusive slot for sanitary napkins, child and adult diapers.

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The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to launch a pilot project this month wherein the residents will have to segregate sanitary waste from other waste.

The three-month pilot project will be launched in the Aundh-Baner smart city area this month, before expanding to the rest of the city, said Dnyaneshwar Molak, deputy municipal commissioner and head PMC solid waste management department.

“We will start the project this month in collaboration with Procter & Gamble. It will provide the necessary technical expertise and machinery for the project. Once the project is successful, it will be implemented across the city,” said Molak

Molak said that Procter & Gamble will fund the project, while Swach, a cooperative of waste-pickers and the PMC will jointly implement the project on the ground.

According to Molak, the city generates at least 2,100 tonnes of waste per day which includes 20 tonnes of unwrapped sanitary napkins.

“Swach will implement the field work, whereas the land for the project will be given by PMC,” said Molak.

Suchismita Pai, outreach manager, Swach, said the effort was not only to advance the cause of waste segregation but also to bring dignity to the life of waste-pickers who presently had to physically segregate sanitary waste which was dumped with other garbage by the residents.

Red Dot campaign

Swach had introduced the ‘Red Dot campaign’ in 2017 where the residents had to dispose sanitary waste such as sanitary napkins and child and adult diapers separately by marking bags with a prominent red dot for easy identification.