Waste compost plan launched
PHOTO: REUTERS
Work has been started on a waste compost plan for the city by separating the garbage of different kinds and using it for producing fertiliser and other gainful purposes.
According to Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) officials, the organisation collects about 5,500 tonnes of garbage daily from more than 6,000 containers lying in the streets. The garbage is take to 17 temporary and five big waste centres set up in different areas of the city.
Garbage is then transfered to the Lakhodair dumping side.
All the items in the garbage are dumped without segregation and due to lack of proper planning, gases emanating from the garbage threaten the environment and public health, the officials said.
The LWMC has now started work on the project of sorting the garbage.
Initially, the Moon Market in Gulshan Ravi has been included in the project along with some union councils covering the GOR area.
It is estimated that 300 tonnes of garbage is collected daily from the area.
The LWMC has signed an agreement with a private organisation that will separate iron, plastic, paper, including tree leaves and grass from the garbage and sell them.
A process of producing natural fertiliser has also been started under the Green Line Waste Compost Plan.
Initially, production of 70 tonnes of fertiliser from the garbage has been started.
A 5kg pack of the fertiliser is being sold for Rs230.
The LWMC has applied for a certificate from the agriculture department for the sale of fertiliser so that it may be better marketed.
As the project succeeds, the garbage collected from other parts of the city would be included in it, LWMC Chief Executive Officer Sahib Deen told The Express Tribune.
Initial reports indicate that about 75 per cent of the 300 tonnes of garbage collected from four Union councils daily is being utilised for various purposes, while the remaining 25% reaches the dumping point.
It is estimated that if work on the project starts across the city, more than 4,000 tonnes of garbage will be useful, while only 1,500 tonnes will be deposited at the dumping point.
The LWMC officials said about 1,200 vehicles are working in Lahore to carry the garbage to the dumping point, on which billions of rupees are spent annually.
Starting fertiliser production from garbage will not only help meet the waste disposal expenses expenses on the one hand, the expenses but also become a source of income.
Under the LWMC Green Line Waste Compost Plan, work is also under way in Gawala Colony in Harbanspura, where there are thousands of buffaloes, to utilise about 1,000 tonnes of dung produced by them daily that was previously dumped into sewers, canals and roads.
Negotiations have been started with private companies to collect the animal waste from the Gawala Colony to produce fertiliser
The LWMC CEO said if the waste collected from the city is used to produce fertiliser and as fuel in cement industries, the garbage will be removed from the city and revenue will also be earned.
He said work had initially been started on the project to collect and separate the garbage from four union councils to make is usable, which is showing good results.
Other areas of the city will also be included in the project, while animal waste from the Gawala Colony will also be utilised from profitable purposes, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2023.