News: Waste recycling hubs to be opened in DLF Phase-1, Badshahpur-29-06-2021
As part of efforts to reduce the load on the Bandhwari landfill, the municipal corporation and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) will start two waste recycling hubs, in DLF Phase-1 and Badshahpur forest corridor, on Thursday. Residents can dump segregated dry waste, such as e-waste, paper, solid plastics, soft plastics, multilayered plastic (MLP), glass and metal, for each of which separate bins are installed, officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) said.
The Badshahpur forest corridor facility is located on the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) in Sector 69 behind Tatvam Villas, while the other facility is located at the Sikandepur Pahadi, near Khushboo Chowk, in DLF Phase-1.
Officials of the MCG said that the objective behind opening these two hubs is to process and recycle higher quantities of dry waste in a quicker time and also make it more accessible for residents. Further, the facilities are expected to decrease the load on the Bandhwari landfill.
Currently, there is only one recycling facility, the Samadhaan Hub in Sector 43, where waste can be deposited for recycling and processing purposes.
Anjali Khatri, a member of iamgurgaon, the NGO involved in the projects, said, “It was proving difficult for citizens across the city to commute to a solitary recycling facility. More such facilities (besides the two) will be set up so that there is easier access for residents to drop waste. Our main objective is to reduce the quantity of waste being carried to the Bandhwari waste plant, as well as, simultaneously, ensuring that the maximum amount of dry waste can be recycled and reused, or given to responsible recyclers for processing,” she said.
The daily operations of the three facilities are primarily being managed by the NGO, with support from the MCG. The new facilities are funded by an IT solutions company.
Khatri said that there are six main categories of waste collection at the three facilities, and the NGO is in the process of adding another category, expired and unused medicines, at these two hubs in the future. “The idea is to collect unused medicines that can be distributed to the underprivileged or NGOs in need of them while the expired medicines will be sent to biomedical waste collectors for further processing,” said Khatri.
A collection point for expired medicines and unused medicines was set up at the Samadhaan Hub in October last year. “Any initiative that helps in reducing as well as recycling of waste is always supported by the MCG. We will be lending our support to this cause to ensure it is not only a success, but also that maximum number of residents are aware of its existence and make use of them,” said Ashish Singla, chief medical officer (CMO), MCG, one of the officials supervising this project.
Dr Indu K Murthy, a principal research scientist working in the climate, environment and sustainability sector at the Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP), said that waste is an ever-increasing source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities. “Not just landfills, but even the trucks used in transporting the waste contribute to GHG emissions. Improving waste management and introducing recycling hubs in cities will help save space, avoid pollution and reduce the carbon footprint. Recycling of waste will minimise environmental and climate impacts, and lead to substantial resource savings,” said Murthy.
