Municipal service: City govt seeks help with waste disposal

Mechanical sweepers will be used on major roads under action plan.

FAISALABAD:

The city district government has sought bids from private businesses in a bid to improve waste disposal in the city, District Coordination Officer Nasim Sadiq told The Express Tribune on Friday.

He said bids would be received till September 3rd. “Tenders have already been advertised in the newspapers,” he said.

The DCO said the Solid Waste Management Department of the city government was capable of managing only 900 tonnes of waste generated in the city everyday. He said the waste generation per day was currently around 1,500 tonnes. “The rest is dumped in open drains and along roadsides,” he said.

He said at least 1,500 more sanitary workers were needed to ensure that all the waste was properly removed from the city promptly. He said there were more than 3,000 sanitary workers with the city government. Some of these were assigned duties to sweep city roads and streets and others to pick solid waste, he added.

The DCO said the proposal to hire more sanitary workers was dropped in favour of purchase of mechanical sweepers in a recent meeting to finalise an action plan for waste management. He said the latter was a cheaper option.

He said the city government would also suggest businesses to set up plants where they could use the waste collected from the city to generate power. Under the action plan, the DCO said, private businesses selected by the city government would employ mechanical sweepers for major roads. Sanitary workers would continue their duties on small roads and streets in residential areas as well as collect solid waste from houses.

In its first year, the action plan would be implemented in Peoples Colony, Ghulam Muhammadabad, Jinnah Colony and Gulberg areas. It would be extended to other areas in the second year.

The DCO said the government had decided to also encourage school and college students to help with waste management in the city.

He said an awareness campaign would be started at schools and colleges in the city. The students would then be encouraged to promote good waste management practices in their neighbourhoods.

He said the city government was also considering seeking assistance from non -governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses on other projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2012.