By Our Reporter
Shillong: Taking stock of the garbage problem in the city, the Social Work Department of St Edmund’s College, on Thursday got down to brass tacks to study the problem of garbage disposal in its entirety.
In the two-day campaign (June 23-24), the students will conduct an anti-garbage disposal campaign in different parts of the city.
Stating that there have been innumerable discussions, deliberations as well as slogans with regards to environmental issues but that nothing has materialized, the students led by their teacher Ms Farida Warjri said, “What we need at this hour is a concrete solution. It’s simple, realistic and do-able and not at all a Herculean task”.
The students looked at the present situation and how it could or should have been. They found that dustbins were lacking in most localities of Shillong. They also observed that shops do not keep dustbins but collect their wastes in plastic bags which they keep outside the shop for cleaners to collect.
They also found that vendors throw waste directly on the road with the exception with a few who put their waste in a plastic or carton but they too throw that to the rivers around the city.
Another finding was that disposable cups and plates from mobile food vendors were discarded by the side of the road with putrid food pieces. This created a lot of public health hazard as flies breed in these places. The students noticed that people tend to throw waste outside the bin even where one is provided. This they said was sheer carelessness.
Their suggestions were that mobile dustbins like the Khasi basket (khoh) should be hung everywhere to be picked up by the cleaners. They suggested complete ban of plastic bags. The toilets in the city were unusable. The group suggested mobile eco toilets. While suggesting that every shop however big or small had to have their own dustbins, the students also stated that waste ought to be segregated at source and heavy penalty be enforced on violators. The final solution was for a central waste disposal system and proper collection system.
They also emphasised on collective and individual approach to resolve the garbage problem.
The Social Work Department of St Edmund’s College will give live interview on Friday at MUDA complex at 5 pm as part of its anti-garbage disposal campaign.