Converting Ashiana Upvan, an Indirapuram high-rise, into a zero-waste zone is proving to be a tougher deal than anticipated. And the biggest roadblock faced by the RWA? Well, unchanging habits of people.
Topping it, the agency that was initially roped in for recycling the waste has also backed out of the project. Auctus, a Greater Noida-based agency, was hired in January to recycle both wet and dry waste. But they were only interested in dry and electronic waste.
The initiative was started as a pilot project to stop the society’s garbage from ending up at landfill sites.
According to experts, the secret to controlling the growth of huge landfill sites is separating wet and dry waste at the level of household, or source, and utilising it. “We had started the initiative as a pilot project to set an example, but a major roadblock that stands before us is implementing waste segregation at the household level. Despite all the communication from the AOA over the last one month, only 10 per cent of the total households of the society have taken to segregating waste at homes. But even that’s a success — though small,” conceded Anil Sharma, AOA president.
He added, “The agency which was basically an e-waste based agency was more interested in dry and electronic waste, and the project was not feasible for them.”
However, the RWA ensured the process did not halt.
It has now roped in another Ghaziabad-based waste recycling agency to take care of the society’s waste and ensure that waste is properly used and recycled.
“Residents normally pack both wet and dry waste together, and dump it via the garbage disposal chute of the society. The wet waste has to be disposed separately. For now, we are looking for disposable or bio-degradable bags that can be used by residents for waste disposal. These bags will be provided to residents free of cost and will be covered under the monthly maintenance charge,” Sharma further said.
According to Sharma, his society alone generates around 700 kilograms of mixed waste every day.
Two major garbage dumps are coming up in the vicinity of the the society. While one is located near the Indirapuram sewerage treatment plant, the other — a considerably larger one — is located in near Pratap Vihar.
