No Fresh Taxes To Deal With Solid Waste Management, Says Director of Municipal Administration

Hyderabad : Plastic usage goes up with the development of the region and cities, says Dr. T.K. Sreedevi, IAS, Director of Municipal Administration . She was speaking at The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FTCCI ) as a chief guest at a seminar on “Plastic Waste – Environmental Issues and Challenges”.

The Seminar aims to address the significant issue of sustainable Plastic waste management through the promotion of safe practices and effective technologies. It aims to stimulate the interest of industry, scientists and citizens and sensitize them about the latest developments in the field of Plastic waste management.

“ We have 141 municipalities in the state of Telangana. Excluding GHMC the rest 140 municipalities generate 3000 MT of waste every day out of which just 210 MT is plastic. There is an urgent need to manage solid waste management. In fact more progress means more usage of plastic. The city of New York uses 1.25 kgs / plastic per person every day and Hyderabad figures amount to ½ kg, Chennai 400 gms and rest of municipalities sin Telangana generate 250 gms of plastic / person/ day. The major issue is mechanization of solid waste and how we segregate and effectively implement waste management", said Dr. T.K. Sreedevi, IAS, Director of Municipal Administration.

"Though funding and money is a major deterrent in the modernization, we are continuously creating awareness to segregate waste at respective places of origin. As part of CSR I urge corporate to take up solid waste management . We need to find effective ways of dealing with plastic waste management as we cnat do away with plastic which is affordable to all!!. We are finding ways and means to get plastic back to agencies to recycle . We are also examining the innovate concepts and ways to get plastic back by way of barter like giving rice, school books and bags for plastic bags & bottles ", she added.

Sharing his views from the industry perspective Sri Vimalesh Gupta, President Telangana and Andhra Plastic Manufactures Association (TAAPMA) said “ There are many myths associated with plastic usage. For example smog in certain cities is not due to plastic usage and burning. Plastic doesn’t emit dangerious gases as been projected. Single Use Plastics ( SUP) just forms 5% of entire plastic usage. In fact developed countries like Singapore does not ban plastic, but instead manage their plastic usage well which is an important point to be noted and implemented here. The solution is bot BANNING plastic but need to find ways to Reuse and Recycle”

The seminar among others was attended by corporate, industrialists, entrepreneurs besides Sri Ramakanth Inani, Senior Vice President, FTCCI; Dr. K. Narayana Reddy Chairman, Pollution & Environment Committee, FTCCI; Sri K. Bhaskerreddy, Vice President, FTCCI; Ms Khyati Naravane, CEO FTCCI, Sri M Koteshwar Rao, Superintendent GHMC

Also Read: Telangana Assembly To Be Plastic-Free Zone

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