Police bust dirty business of illegal garbage collection

Seven members of a gang involved in illegal garbage collection business have been arrested in raids conducted within the limits of Zaman Town Police Station, Korangi Zone Police Station and Awami Colony Police Station in the Korangi area.

The gang, run by illegal immigrants, had allegedly scared off the official waste collectors and started lifting garbage door-to-door against payment.

They would separate plastic, metal and organic waste and sell it respectively to the recycling factories to make a handsome income. The rest was dumped in drains or burnt. Police conducted the raids on the request of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) Managing Director Tariq Ali Nizamani.

The operation was carried out by local police based on information provided by SSWMB officials and company representatives. The group had devised a mechanism to disrupt waste management operations. The gang members would prevent SSWMB personnel from carrying out their duties, affecting the door-to-door garbage collection process.

They would collect waste from households and dustbins placed by the SSWMB in various areas, sell the valuable waste, and dispose of the remaining garbage in open spaces or drains, Nallah, leading to sanitation and clogging issues in the city.

Under the supervision of Deputy Director District Korangi, Imtiaz Bhutto, Afghan nationals involved in waste collection were also arrested. The SSWMB MD requested police to take further action against such groups engaged in illegally collecting waste from homes, spreading and burning garbage, and running unauthorised waste businesses.

SSWMB MD instructed the officers concerned to identify more such groups and take legal action against them by filing cases. He said that strict measures would be taken against those responsible for environmental pollution, and legal proceedings would be initiated against them.