LWMC urges citizens to pack offal in special garbage bags

Company has arranged for 400,000 special plastic bags which would be distributed to all citizens, says manager.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has urged citizens to make sure they dispose of animal remains after the Eid sacrifice in plastic bags provided by the company.

LWMC Managing Director Dr Waseem Ajmal said that the company had arranged for 400,000 special plastic bags which would be distributed to all citizens. He urged people to pack animal offal and other remains in these bags before throwing them in garbage containers or handing them to sanitary workers. These bags, he said, would be available at all union council and zonal offices, major stores, Eidgahs and mosques, Eid camps and bakar mandis.

Dr Ajmal said that Eidul Azha was the busiest day of the year for trash collectors, as the amount of solid waste on the day was about 11,000 tons in Lahore, twice the daily average of 5,500 tonnes.

“It is the biggest challenge in terms of keeping the city clean,” he said. “We have made the best arrangements we can for Eid, but we need the help of citizens as without their cooperation it is not possible to keep Lahore clean.”

About the company’s arrangements for the Eid holidays, he said 10,000 employees would be working on the three days. He said the LWMC would hire 265 pickup trucks on Eid day, 238 on the next day and 138 on the day after that for trash collection; they would operate in addition to the 600 vehicles owned by the company.

Dr Ajmal said that the city had been divided into 25 zones, and one tractor loader and two tractor trolleys would be rented for use in each zone during the holidays. A camp each has been set up in the 150 union councils of the city. He said that a control room had been established to monitor and coordinate operations for three days, as well as a helpline where citizens can also register complaints.

He said that space for the extra garbage generated on Eid had been made at the Mahmood Booti, Saggian, Babu Sabu and Nishtar Town landfill sites. He said that all garbage containers and disposal sites would be sprayed with insecticide before Eid.

Dr Ajmal said that the company had bought new uniforms and shoes for all sanitary workers and was offering them special bonuses of Rs1,000 for good performance during Eid.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2011.