Mumbai: Get set to segregate medical and chemical waste

After dry and wet waste segregation the BMC has now started asking housing societies to separate domestic hazardous waste such as chemical and medical waste too Civic officials told midday that the move was enacted as such waste which includes broken thermometers medicines batteries colours chemical spray disinfectant spray blades sanitary pads diapers etc not only pose a threat of fire incidents in dumping grounds but also can harm the cleaners Some housing societies in Borivli are among the first to get the noticeThe circular issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has mandated that societies keep domestic hazardous waste in a separate black or red bin for easy identification The societies have been given 15 days to start implementing the same failing which the civic body will start levying fine However the fine amount has not been decided yetSwapnil Housing Society in Borivli got the BMC notice 23 days agoCivic officials told midday that they would collect the hazardous waste and keep it separately at the time of collecting dry waste They added that the BMC will get separate garbage trucks for the waste and decide on the frequency of these soonA BMC official told midday ldquoMany cleaners were injured while collecting garbage from housing societies as the waste had blades and dangerous chemicals Batteries and other inflammable liquids increase the chances of fire in dumping ground too So these should be kept and disposed of separatelyrdquoAlso read Mumbai Malabar Hill road to finally be reopenedThe BMC notice read ldquoSociety should segregate dry wet and domestic hazardous waste at the society Wet waste includes fruits vegetables and remaining foods and societies should keep this garbage in a green dustbin Dry waste includes papers slippers tyre furniture cloths mirror rubber thermocol ceramic foam and these should be kept in a blue dustbin And the third is domestic hazardous waste which includes broken thermometers medicines batteries colours chemical spray disinfectant spray blades sanitary pads and diapers This waste should be kept in red or black dustbin If society fails to do it they will be fined accordinglyrdquoSwapnil Housing Society in Borivli is among the societies that received the notice Society secretary Ravindra Vaidya told midday ldquoWe got the notice twothree days ago Currently we segregate wet and dry waste at the society but this will have to change now We have informed all society members about keeping domestic hazardous waste separately and we will also hold a meeting on this topic The BMC has our full supportrdquoOfficial SpeakSandhya Nandedkar assistant commissioner of R Central ward told midday ldquoWe have started sending notices to societies in our ward asking them to segregate domestic hazardous waste This move will start across the city soon We received the guidelines from the Maharashtra Pollution Control BoardrdquoldquoCurrently we have vehicles to collect dry and wet waste We will soon get separate vehicles for hazardous waste too If societies follow the guidelines properly it will not only help deal with the waste but will also help control pollutionrdquo she addedThe BMC has asked societies to keep domestic hazardous waste in a black or red dustbin for easy identification Representation picThe BMC had earlier instructed all housing societies and establishments in the city to segregate dry and wet waste It also stated that all societies constructed after 2007 or those having an area more than 20000 square feet or societies with more than 100 flats will have to compost their wet waste themselves However there has not been much difference on the groundA lot of societies have been facing trouble with composting their own waste and complained that the BMC is also not collecting garbage midday had earlier reported how BMC stopped collecting garbage from a Kandivli societyWhen midday raised concerns about the dry and wet waste segregated by societies getting mixed together at the time of collection by civic bodyrsquos vehicle Nandedkar said ldquoWe either collect the wastes separately in two different vehicles or in separate compartments of the same vehicle to ensure they do not get mixedrdquo She added ldquoHowever we have never seen a complete segregation by societies yet and our cleaners have to separate the waste This is a big issue but we cannot force the citizensrdquoVoicesRavindra Vaidya secretary Swapnil Housing SocietylsquoWe got the notice twothree days ago Currently we segregate wet and dry waste at the society but this will have to change now We have informed all society members about keeping domestic hazardous waste separately and we will also hold a meeting on this topic The BMC has our full supportrsquoSandhya Nandedkar assistant commissioner R Central wardlsquoCurrently we have vehicles to collect dry and wet waste We will soon get separate vehicles for hazardous waste too If societies follow the guidelines properly it will not only help deal with the waste but will also help control pollutionrsquoWhat are domestic hazardous wasteBroken thermometersMedicinesBatteriesColourspaintsChemical sprayDisinfectant sprayBladesSanitary padsDiapers15Time in days BMC gave to societies to follow instructions