Garbage Segregation To Be Implemented In 2 Months

The minister of Local Government and Outer Islands Hervé Aimée told The Independent, “My ministry is in consultations with municipalities to provide bins with separations for the public so that they can throw bio-degradable and non bio-degradable garbage separately.”

Aimée said that more than Rs 1 billion is being spent annually just for the collection of garbage. “Each year, the public generates 414,000 tonnes of trash in the form of wrappings, bottles, boxes, cans, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, phone books and much-much more,” he said.

He highlighted that activities at the Mare Chicose landfill will be minimised to prevent saturation. “Wastes that can be recycled are being sent to a waste recycling factory in La Chaumiere. We will concentrate more on composting,” he said. The minister indicated that out of the 414,000 tons of landfill waste each year, 325,000 tons will be used for composting. “If we can make compost at La Chaumiere, La Brasserie, Roche Bois, La Laura and Mare d’Australia, then there will be no need to transfer the waste to the Mare Chicose landfill,” he said.

“The public does not realise that it is their money which is being spent. If we are a little more responsible, we can reduce this expense by 20 to 30 per cent and use that money for other important things,” he said. He added that the public should reduce their wastes. “They can send their bottles and papers for recycling instead of putting them together with other wastes. This will save our time of going through all the wastes to see what can be recycled,” he said.

He added that the ability to export compost is also being calculated. According to a research provided by the Ministry of Local Government, over 90 per cent of household wastes can be used for this purpose.