Pune: If one door is closed, another opens. Well, this is exactly what has happened in Pune city. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is facing severe opposition from residents for starting garbage processing plant in their areas while on the other hand, Mobitrash, a van which treats waste garbage, is gradually becoming popular among the residents.
Started in 2006 as a pilot project in Aundh to treat wet garbage in a mobile garbage van, it has spread all over the city in areas like Vishrantwadi, Viman Nagar, Boat Club Road, Kalyani Nagar, Kondhwa, Hadapsar and Kothrud. A joint venture by the PMC and the Excel Industries, it was started to treat 3.5 tonnes of wet waste daily. Even if the garbage van is treating less amount of wet waste of the city out of the total wet waste generation, it is helping the civic body to tackle at least 25 per cent of the landfilling issue.
Nilesh Bhagat, Marketing Executive of Excel Industries, Pune region, told Sakal Times, “Now, we are operating in various areas of the city and soon we are going to start this service in Sinhagad Road and Kharadi areas. The requirement is increasing day by day as we are the only mobile garbage van which converts garbage into manure.”
He further said, “We have only three vans with a capacity of a tonne and are operating more than the capacity. Soon, we will operate the fourth van for the same. We collect wet waste from residential buildings, corporates, restaurants and hotels, commercial complexes, educational institutes, hospital canteens, factories or industries and from any bulk waste generator. Along with Pune, we also carry out this process at Surat, Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune. Trials going on in Rajkot and there is a requirement in Bengaluru as well.”
He further said, “We do not collect plastic or medical waste, only organic i.e, leftovers of vegetables, fruits, bones, egg shells and grass cuttings are collected and manure is made out of it.”
Preeti Bhangade, a PMC Sanitary Inspector, said, “In a day, total 2,100 tonnes of waste is generated. From this, 1,100 to 1,200 tonne is wet waste and the rest is dry waste. At least 25 per cent of our wet waste is getting tackled through this initiative and people are becoming more aware about it and they are adopting this facility.”