Date:19/03/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/03/19/stories/2004031901361700.htm

Back AP: Waste segregation helps keep a town garbage-free

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , March 18

JUST a year ago, Suryapet, a small town in Nalgonda district on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, was like any other town, with piles of litter dotting the streets and main thoroughfares. But a joint effort launched by the residents and civic staff in January 2003 changed the face of the town.

The campaign saw 360 community dustbins being removed over a period of 15 months. "Instead of letting the people dispose of their domestic waste into community dustbins, we encouraged them to segregate the waste into dry and wet waste. These packs will be handed over to the civic staff," Mr Khadar Saheb, the Municipal Commissioner of Suryapet, told a seminar on plastics recycling and waste management.

The seminar was organised by Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology.

The unique campaign also proved to be a revenue-generating stream for the municipality. "While dry waste gives us Rs 2,400 a tonne, plastic waste yields Rs 3,000 a tonne," Mr Saheb said.

The municipality, however, didn't spend any additional amount to achieve this. "We have been spending Rs 6 lakh on sanitation. We haven't increased the budget for this after we launched the campaign," he said.