City produced less waste in April, May
Bhubaneswar: Garbage generation in the city in March, April and May decreased by 35 per cent, thanks to the lockdown. Waste production has started picking up in June, with many restrictions no longer in place.
The city, which usually generates 650 metric tonne of garbage daily, produced only 16,000 metric tonne in March, around 3,500 metric tonne lower than normal. In April, this reduced to 10,000 metric tonne, about half the usual amount. In May, it came down by 2,900 metric tonne, BMC officials said.
“There was not much change in the generation of household waste. The decrease was because hotels, malls, restaurants, roadside eateries, food kiosks and makeshift stalls selling fruits and vegetables were closed in April and May. There will be a marginal increase in waste collection in June as hotels and restaurants start opening,” said a BMC officer.
Garbage collection was not affected as it was kept out of the purview of the lockdown. Manual and mechanical sweeping kept the city clean. However, the BMC failed to keep the micro composting centres running due to shortage of labour.
The BMC has engaged three garbage collecting agencies for daily lifting of waste and dumping at the designated site.