09 December,2023 07:22 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
The dustbins are expected to prevent strays and rodents from creating a mess. They require a special mechanism to take the garbage out
AMID the prevailing difficulties in installing underground community bins in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to set them up in all civic hospitals in a phased exercise. The BMC will consider installing the underground community bins in all public places later.
According to civic data, there are around 1,500 traditional community bins on the city's streets. In 2019, the civic body decided to install underground bins. "In the first phase, we have decided to install 15 underground bins in civic hospitals. This will help mitigate the solid waste problem in hospitals. The underground bins will be a neater arrangement than traditional community bins. This would also prevent rodents and stray dogs from pulling garbage out of the bins," the civic official said.
There are around 21 civic-run hospitals in the city, five of which are major hospitals and 16 are peripheral hospitals. In addition, there are 30 maternity homes and one hospital is being built at Bhandup and Chandivli each. In the second phase of the exercise, the remaining hospitals would be equipped with the bins.
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According to the civic official, the capacity of the underground bins will be 2.2 cubic meters which means one bin can accommodate around 700 kilograms of waste. Each open community bin costs around Rs 1 lakh, while one underground community bin costs around Rs 10 lakh. "Yes, the cost is very high but new types of community bins are needed in the city," the official added.
"Entering the bins is not possible so a different kind of mechanism would be used to extract the garbage by accessing them from below the ground," the official said. The BMC will consider setting up the bins at other public places later. The civic body has been facing difficulties in installing the underground bins owing to 29 utilities such as water pipelines, sewage and stormwater lines. It has managed to install underground bins in 11 public places so far.
Rs 10L
Cost of one underground community bin
