Mohali mayor spearheads waste segregation campaign
Over 15,000 residents are expected to benefit from the campaign, with 180 municipal corporation vehicles tasked with collecting segregated waste across the city
Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu on Sunday launched an awareness campaign from Ward No 10 to encourage residents to segregate wet and dry waste before handing it over to door-to-door waste collectors. The initiative, which began from the mayor’s own ward, aims to address the growing waste management issues in Mohali.
Over 15,000 residents are expected to benefit from the campaign, with 180 municipal corporation vehicles tasked with collecting segregated waste across the city.
Sidhu said that the initiative is crucial for improving waste disposal practices and ensuring cleaner streets. He also assured that the waste collectors, previously using carts, would be employed to assist in the new collection system, ensuring no disruption to their livelihood.
Addressing the gathering, Sidhu explained that one of the biggest challenges in Mohali is the daily generation of 100 to 150 tonnes of waste. He pointed out that without segregation, wet waste often rots, producing foul smells and posing a health risk when it reaches the Resource Management Centre (RMC). This delays the processing of waste, which takes up to four days to segregate, making the situation untenable for residents and workers alike.
To resolve this, Sidhu has urged the public to segregate waste at the household level. “When wet and dry waste is sorted at the source, it can be collected separately, eliminating delays and ensuring more efficient daily clearance,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}To resolve this, Sidhu has urged the public to segregate waste at the household level. “When wet and dry waste is sorted at the source, it can be collected separately, eliminating delays and ensuring more efficient daily clearance,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Citing examples from Phase 5 and Phase 11, where poor waste management had led to unpleasant living conditions, Sidhu said that some residents had even postponed weddings due to the unbearable smell.
“These issues can be avoided if the waste is properly segregated,” he added.
The mayor also drew attention to the dangers of sharp objects in waste bags, which pose a threat to stray animals. He appealed to residents to safely dispose of items like glass shards and broken crockery. He said that people often dispose of kitchen waste along with broken crockery, glass, spoons, and polythene, which stray animals consume, leading to illness and even death. Citing his own experience, he said post-mortems often reveal kilos of polythene, glass, and sharp objects inside cows’ stomachs.
The awareness campaign, which will gradually expand across the city, is expected to educate citizens on the importance of using blue bins for dry waste and green bins for wet waste.
