In an attempt to tackle overflowing waste on streets and the emanating foul smell, the city of Surat in Gujarat has come up with an ingenious solution — underground garbage bins. The municipality body installed 43 underground garbage bins, each with the capacity to hold upto 1.5 tonnes of waste, as part of Surat’s Smart City Mission.
Placed on footpaths across the city, these underground garbage bins have two inlets — one for individuals throwing waste and another for collected waste. Speaking to The Times of India, Commissioner of Surat Municipal Commission M Thennarasan said, “We will be placing 75 such bins. After this started in a limited area, more and more municipal councillors are making similar demands. Once people have good experience and see the result, they will push for better facilities.”
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Thennarasan, who is also the director and chairman of Surat Smart City project, added that they now plan on installing these bins in other areas of the city as well. A resident was quoted in the report as saying, “It’s a good initiative. Even if it rains, the water won’t get inside. This should be done in other areas as well.”
The city of Surat reportedly produces a daily amount of 2,100 tonnes in garbage, out of which, 800 tonnes in processed. As part of the initiative, 425 vehicles, each with an RFD tag and GPS tracking system, will cover 900 routes to collect waste by going door-to-door. Now the city hopes to come up with solutions to treat 2,000 tonnes of its daily waste.
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Surat is also celebrated for its sewage water treatment wherein, nearly 57 million litres is converted to 40 million litres of potable water every day. The water is then utilised by several dyeing and printing mills of the Pandesara industrial estate. Authorities have now proposed to introduce another plant by February which will treat 32 million litres of water per day.
