The Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) has stipulated that local bodies need to make arrangements to monitor and collect construction/demolition waste and use part of it for government contract work. The fresh guidelines are part of an LSGD order issued to lay out the responsibilities of local bodies and their secretaries and other officials in waste management.
According to the order, as much as 10% to 20% of the waste generated as part of building demolition or as construction waste can be used in government contract work. The local bodies are also expected to make available enough containers to collect such waste and take steps to transport them to processing centres. If such demolition waste contains dangerous substances or chemicals, the appropriate authority has to be contacted for the guidelines to process these.
The order says that the local bodies have to prepare a waste management plan based on the State policy. There should be a mechanism to collect solid waste at the doorstep. An annual user fee should be collected from waste generators. Identity cards have to be provided for those involved in waste collection. Those who are not part of the unorganised waste collection sector should also be made to register.
Sanitation workers employed in cleaning streets should be asked not to burn the waste in public spaces. They should collect, segregate, and hand it over to the agencies collecting waste. Biodegradable waste should ideally be treated at source or in common, decentralised composting facilities. Burning of plastic waste has to be completely avoided.
Unscientific land filling by mixing it with different kinds of waste has to be completely avoided. Only waste which cannot be recycled or reused or the rejects which are produced during waste processing can be used for scientific sanitary land filling.
Studies have to be conducted on legacy waste dumps and possibilities of bio-mining have to be explored. In case bio-mining is not possible in a particular place, scientific landfill capping measures have to be taken.
