LWMC yet to achieve zero-waste target

LAHORE : Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has so far failed to achieve zero-waste target as majority of roads especially in poor localities remained full of waste presenting the true picture of the company’s performance.

One can witness heaps of garbage along major roads in Township, Green Town and adjoining areas. Waste bins placed in these localities were overflowing most of the time, which speaks about the priorities of the company.

One time waste lifting was done in these areas due to which bins remained overflowing for the rest of the day, said local residents while talking with the scribe.

Muhammad Shafi, a shopkeeper at Umer Chowk, said that the residents have to live in the stinking environment. He said LWMC trucks collect garbage once a day from their area.

Similarly, traders at Green Town bazaar claimed that LWMC staff didn’t come for road sweeping and waste bins were cleared once a day.

Residents of different blocks of Township, Green Town and adjoining areas said that due to the overflowing bins residents were throwing waste in empty plots due to which many such plots had turned into mini landfill sites.

Residents of Sabzazaar, Iqbal Town, Taj Bagh and Mughalpura said the company was giving priority to main roads where VVIP movement took place. Likewise, Raiwind Road, Defence Road, areas beneath Kahna Flyover were also presenting a very unhygienic picture. The data of smog suggested presence of fine dust particles (PM 2.5) in these areas.

The scribe witnessed overflowing waste bins near Model Bazaar of Township where hundreds of thousands of citizens visited for daily shopping. When asked, the shopkeepers and residents said that waste was only collected once a day. They said scavengers used to collect plastic material from the overflowing bins and threw a lot of waste in the nearby drain.

They demanded the chief minister pay surprise visit to these areas to see the company’s performance. They demanded that waste lifting should be ensured in these localities.

On the other hand, the company operations team claimed that they were implementing a zero-waste policy but in reality lifting of waste at multiple times from the city had already been a big problem for them. Normally the waste was lifted early morning but the bins were again full around 11am. These fully loaded bins can be seen in residential areas, markets and other important places creating problems for the people.

Citizens demanded the company review its waste lifting timing besides introducing an effective monitoring system to trace out overflowing bins. Company sources revealed that majority of staff especially managers and deputy managers in operations wings didn’t bother to visit their respective jurisdictions. A latest picture of overflowing bins near Model Bazaar Township along was sent to LWMC’s General Manager (Operations) Mian Nadeem didn’t bother to reply. However, LWMC CEO while replying to the scribe’s message said that she would look into the issue.

Meanwhile, in a press release issued by the company, a monitoring team of the company visited LWMC workshops and multiple areas of the city. The company’s deputy CEO and GM Operations visited Valencia and Ferozepur Road workshops to review the attendance of staff and departure of vehicles along with the monitoring of cleanliness operation. They visited Ferozepur Road, Pindi Stop, Akbar Chowk, Allah Hoo Roundabout, Wapda Town, Gulberg, Liberty, Noor Jahan Road, Canal Road and adjoining areas. During the visit, monitoring officers directed all town managers to ensure clearance of containers in night shift and issued warning notices to Allama Iqbal Town manager and zonal officer. LWMC CEO stated that due to early morning monitoring of the officers, the desired results were being achieved in the cleanup operation. During the Tuesday morning visit, 95% vehicles were out for cleanliness operation. She added that department was observing zero-tolerance policy over negligence.