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Waste management: Thane civic body will assist residents to set up compost pits
The assistant sanitation inspector of every area will visit the residential societies and tell them of the importance of waste treatment plants.
After a first failed attempt to make residential societies treat their own waste, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is now giving it a second shot.
It will be a much softer approach at convincing bulk generators to treat their own waste. The solid waste department has claimed they will try to understand the issues of the people and find solutions so that societies can install the system. The assistant sanitation inspector of every area will visit the residential societies and tell them of the importance of waste treatment plants.
The corporation has also posted on their website a list of vendors, who can assist the societies in setting up the plant. With Assembly elections approaching, the stand of the ruling party, which had earlier opposed to compulsion imposed on societies, will also play a role in its implementation.
The non co-operation from the societies to treat their solid waste was also one of the prime reasons for the corporation losing points in the Swachh Survekshan rankings this year.
An official from solid waste department said, “As per the solid waste management rules of 2016, it is compulsory for societies which generate more than 100 kg of waste to treat their own waste.”
“Although we had faced opposition from the societies and the politicians the first time, societies should understand that these are the rules of the Central government and they need to be followed. All societies will have to treat their waste. We have decided to start a dialogue with the societies this time,” he said.
The corporation had sent out notices to the residential societies to compulsorily treat their waste in November 2017. It had made it mandatory for the societies to treat the waste and said that if they didn’t do so, the garbage of such societies would not be picked up. The ultimatum received lot of opposition for the corporation from the societies and the ruling party.
“We have to pick up garbage as it will create hygiene issues in the city. We have decided that inspectors from different areas will visit the societies in their areas and convince them to compost the waste. Our employees will also help resolve the issues related to availability of space and different methods to adopt. The societies can start with a small pit. The project can be taken on a large scale after the result.”
He said the first target will be commercial establishments, following which, the housing societies will be targeted.
Around 50 societies started composting their waste after the notice, while a few were already doing it before the notices were sent out.
The societies said the corporation should provide them expertise and they do not want to deal with vendors.
Kasber Augustine, the founder of Thane Citizens’ Foundation (TCF), said, “We are not against waste management, but we want our issues to be addressed.”
“We had demanded that the corporation provide a land for several societies for composting in each ward. The corporation can provide us expertise and we are ready to pay a nominal fees to them,” he said.
“However, we do not want to deal with any vendor who might vanish in few months, leaving us in the lurch. We will put in 50% efforts while the corporation should put in the remaining 50% to resolve the problem,” he added.
‘Give us tax rebate’
Kasber Augustine, founder of Thane Citizen’s Foundation, sought tax rebate for composting waste.
An official from the solid waste dept said, “The rebate at present is not applicable for those societies who compulsorily have to treat their waste. Those societies, who are not bound to compost their waste, but are still composting will get a rebate.”
The ruling party has claimed that since the TMC has just put the notice online and not made it mandatory, they will not be taking a stand at present. Naresh Mhaske of Shiv Sena, leader of the TMC house, said, “We will oppose the project if the societies have any problems implementing it.”
