Five more waste collection centres to come up in twin cities

Hubballi: The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation is all set to set up five more dry waste collection centres where dry waste will be processed and reused, near stationary compactor stations in the twin cities.
In Bengaluru, there are many such centres, but in North Karnataka, it is the first of its kind, claim HDMC officials. In the first phase, HDMC set up a dry waste collection centre near zone office 11 on a trial basis, and it is segregating 100kg of dry waste collected daily from ward number 57.The civic workers collect the waste separately by going door-to-door in that ward.
Encouraged by this success, the HDMC has decided to replicate this model by setting up five more dry waste collection centres. In this dry waste collection centre, the workers further segregate the dry waste. As of now, they extract 32 items from the dry waste that they collect. The separation of dry waste and its collection is being conducted successfully with the help of Hasiru Dal, an NGO.
According to officials, the dry waste collection centre has reduced the quantity of dry waste going to the dumping yard.
According to the Yuvaraj K R, environment engineer, the dry waste is being collected from ward numbers 57, 55 and 58. In ward 57, the collection of wet waste and dry waste is being conducted with the help of Hasiru Dal, he said.
Deepika R, health inspector of ward number 57, said that it took almost a year to inculcate the habit of handing over segregated waste by residents of the ward, and the result is before us.
She said the dry waste is segregated and processed after which it is sent for recycling from this centre.
She said that they create small chips from plastic, by using a shredder machine, which is then sent to factories. A factory located near Hubballi off Karwar Road prepares plastic ropes using this material extracted from the dry waste.
Executive engineer of the solid waste management wing of HDMC, Vijaykumar, said that the HDMC is planning to establish five more such dry waste collection centres along with material recovery centres in the twin cities, and that a tender has already been floated for the same.
Hasiru Dal, Hubballi-Dharwad manager Manjunath Barker said that last August they collected 10 tonnes of multi-layer plastic produced out of dry waste and handed it over to a cement factory in Bagalkot district.