MCG to observe zero-waste day on December 25

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to observe a zero-waste day on December 25, during which the civic body will only collect wet waste from

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to observe a zero-waste day on December 25, during which the civic body will only collect wet waste from households across the city, said officials on Friday. Officials said that the MCG is likely to observe this day once every month in future.

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MCG officials said that they will collect only wet waste from locations where residents carry out waste segregation. In other areas, where residents are yet to adopt the practice, workers have been asked to inform residents about the basic types of waste segregation and given instructions not to collect any waste at all on December 25.

As per MCG joint commissioner Dheeraj Kumar, who is also the civic body’s nodal officer for the Swachh Bharat Mission, the rationale behind observing a zero-waste day is to inculcate the habit of waste segregation in residents across the city.

“The objective behind observing a zero-waste day is to make residents aware of the various types of waste segregation, its benefits, and adopting the practice into their daily lives. We want residents to realise that wet waste will help in generation of compost while certain dry waste products can also be recycled and reused. This way, the city will produce zero to limited waste,” said Kumar.

He further said that the MCG has issued directions to workers of Ecogreen — the civic body’s concessionaire for door-to-door collection of waste — to strictly lift only wet waste on the day and accordingly sensitise residents, at the time of collection, about the various methods of segregation and its importance. He also said that a seminar was also held with Ecogreen workers earlier this month where all these measures were explained to them in a step-by-step fashion.

“The zero waste day will not be a type of enforcement but a gradual method to shift the pattern of waste segregation in the city. By holding zero waste days every once a month, we want to bring out a gradual change in the habit of residents rather than forcing them to do so. We believe that in the long-term, the former method will be more successful,” said Kumar.

As per MCG officials, in many condominiums, societies, and townships across the city, waste segregation is a must for residents. Failure to segregate waste can lead to imposition of penalty by residents’ welfare associations (RWAs). In such areas, there are composting plants set up within the residential areas.

“It is a great strategy to reduce this city’s waste output. It will also empower RWAs to direct residents to segregate waste and create a mechanism for setting up various types of bins and encourage them to set up in-house compost units. The MCG should however, also look at the option of levying penalties on residents for not adopting waste segregation or not lift waste from their households for a period of time, or both,” said Puneet Goyal, president Tulip Violet RWA.

Kumar further said that besides planning a zero-waste day every month, the MCG is also planning to hold zero plastic day in a similar manner.

“We also want to simultaneously reduce the city’s dependency on plastic. Just last week, a cloth bag bank was opened to distribute cloth bags and replace the usage of polythene in the city. We will be aiming to hold this event in public spaces such as markets initially before extending it to households,” said Kumar.