C regional ward office of PCMC becomes Maharashtra’s first zero waste office
Maharashtra’s Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Regional Ward Office ‘C’ in Nehru Nagar has become the state’s first zero waste office project on the occasion of International Day of Zero Waste, i.e. 30 March. The Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Shekhar Singh officially launched the initiative with the aim of creating wealth instead of waste.
The project, guided by Additional Commissioner Jitendra Wagh, involves a total of 143 officers and staff members, out of which 41 are women and 92 are men. The office staff segregates food waste, used paper, used pens, mulch and plastic from the office premises on a daily basis. To ensure the success of the initiative, a workshop was conducted for the employees at the regional level, sensitizing them to stop using plastic water bottles, plastic lunch boxes, and plastic bags. As a result, the staff has been using metal lunch boxes and drinking water bottles for the past fifteen days.
Under this initiative, the used writing and printing paper will be collected, pulped, and recycled, resulting in cost savings for the office. Dry waste generated daily in the office includes 20 kg of mulch and 41 kg of Nirmalya, totaling 61 kg per day or approximately 2 tons per month and 24 tons of waste per year. The waste was previously collected and transported to the Moshi waste depot every day. However, with the zero waste office initiative, the transportation cost and fuel will be saved as fertilizer is being produced from the wet raw material of the office. The fertilizer will be used in the garden department of the Municipal Corporation, thereby saving on the cost of buying fertilizer.
The office has also taken measures to discourage visitors from bringing plastic bags and bottles. A visitor who brings a plastic bag to the office will be given a cloth bag for free. However, if a visitor is found with a plastic bag for the second time, penal action will be taken against them.
The zero waste office project is a significant step towards creating a sustainable environment in the region, and it is hoped that it will inspire other offices and organizations to adopt similar practices.
