Mangaluru City Corporation will provide waste collection points for food caterers, who are among the largest generators of wet waste in the city.
Disposal of wet waste by caterers dominated the meeting of hoteliers, bar and restaurant owners, owners of community halls, and members of social organisations held at the MCC here on Wednesday.
The meeting was held to make the traders aware of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 that authorises the corporation to impose penalty on those throwing waste on the road and for the non-segregation of waste at the source. It also dealt with a bar on the use of plastics and ways to prevent dengue and malaria infection.
Swami Ekagamyananda, coordinator of Ramakrishna Mission’s Swachha Mangaluru Abhiyan, said majority of those who throw waste by the road side were food caterers. “Nearly 60 to 70% of this waste are dumped by fast-food joints and caterers,” he said and added that Swachhata Yodaru, a team of volunteers of the Abhiyan keeping vigil on waste dumping people, have been catching such persons and making them remove it.
“But we cannot blame the caterers and fast-food operators as Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited personnel are not regular in collecting the waste. When you can fine households for non-segregation of waste, action needs to be taken if Antony Waste Handling Cell personnel fail to collect waste from an area on a day,” he said.
While claiming that roadside waste dumping was by unregistered food caterers, Rajesh Konchady, president of the caterers’ association, said none of the registered caterers were doing it. Mr. Konchady said caterers were finding it hard in segregating waste and disposing it at the function venue in absence of cooperation from the venue administrators.
Manohar, a member of the association, expressed the need of some collection points in the city where the caterers bring the waste that is generated.
He also wanted the community hall administrators to provide space to keep the segregated waste till its collection by the MCC-authoritised agencies.
MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazir said the corporation will shortly announce some common wet waste collection points. He said community hall administrators will be directed to have wet waste and dry waste collection bins. Mr. Nazir said the Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited personnel will be directed to collect waste from areas on a regular basis.
