Civic body converts 250 kg organic waste to compost daily in south Mumbai

Assistant municipal commissioner Vishwas Mote said that BMC is leading by example, by taking ‘my garbage, my responsibility’ seriously.

Over the last two weeks, employees of D municipal ward have been collecting 250 kg of wet waste daily which is then processed at a compost unit in Dadiseth Cross Lane, Girgaum. The waste collected comprises 150 kg from chawls and 100 kg from the nearby markets. The processing unit was formally inaugurated on Friday.

The compost plant at Girgaum was inaugurated by Juhi Chawla, actress and resident of the area. (HT photo)

An organic waste processer has been set up at the spot, which also functions as a depot for the segregation of dry waste (recyclable material like plastic, glass, paper) to be sent to recyclers, said Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner, D Ward, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The project was inaugurated by Juhi Chawla, actress and resident of the area. She said that following this initiative, more private societies in the area must take the cue and replicate it in their premises

“Unless there is support from the residents, we cannot expect BMC to do much for us. Penalty is not the solution to environmental problems. Neither will it help to play the blame game,” Chawla said.

“When we tell the residents that they need to segregate the waste, it applies to us too, and so we are leading by example. We are taking ‘my garbage, my responsibility’ seriously,” Mote said.

On an average, two metric tonnes of compost is generated from seven metric tonnes of organic waste, collected from 150 homes and vegetable markets, each month. The compost is then used in municipal gardens.

“When it comes to a system like this, there isn’t much of an effort required on the part of those managing it. The organic waste compost doesn’t even smell, so it is ideal in a city space,” said Subhendu Mandal of Netel (India) Limited, who helped BMC set-up the plant.