Waste dumped by restaurants, hotels choking sewer lines in city
The sewer lines and chambers for rainwater are getting choked near major restaurants in the city. Sanitation workers claimed that by violating the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules, restaurants that are bulk waste generators have not installed in-house garbage processing units and dump the garbage here and there, which chokes the sewer lines and rainwater chambers. Despite notices, most bulk waste generators, including restaurants, hotels and marriage palaces, have not installed in-house waste processing units.
“We face sewer choking issues near every major food joint in the city. They dump the kitchen waste in the sewer, which chokes the sewer lines. They should not dump food waste and other material in the sewer,” said a sanitation worker, working on Majitha road on Sunday.
The MC had identified around 150 bulk waste generators and issued the notices in July 2023. The civic body had asked their operators to install in-house waste processing units. However, a few major hotels and restaurants have installed units for waste management but most restaurants are sans these plants. These restaurant owners and operators fill their garbage in black plastic bags and dump these at collection bins in markets while the kitchen waste is dumped in the sewer.
Health officials claim that around 50 major firms in the city have installed in-house waste processing units. According to the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules, a firm that generates more than 100 kg of waste per day is considered a bulk waste generator. An in-house waste processing unit is mandatory for such bulk waste generators as per the MSW (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016.
Municipal Health Officer Kiran Kumar said, “We are encouraging the owners of hotels, restaurants and marriage palaces to install waste processing units. So, they process the dry and wet waste inside the restaurant premises. Many bulk waste generators do not have space to install the processing units. So, we are trying to make clusters of hotels so that they can collectively install joint processing units.”
