Punjab to establish 10 recycling plants to convert garbage into energy

WEB DESK: Punjab’s Local Government Minister, Zeeshan Rafique, announced an ambitious plan to establish 10 recycling plants across the province’s divisions, aiming to convert garbage into energy and compost while adhering to modern waste disposal standards.

This initiative, part of the “Suthra Punjab Programme,” seeks to transform waste management in both rural and urban areas.

Minister Rafique outlined the plan’s multi-phase approach, noting that the success of the initial phase has led to the simultaneous launch of the second and third phases.

The second phase focuses on providing equitable municipal services in rural and urban regions. To ensure cleanliness, a sentry worker will be assigned to every 250 households, responsible for street cleaning, garbage collection, and sewage maintenance.

The sanitation system in tehsils will be outsourced to ensure efficiency and reliability. The collected garbage will be temporarily stored at designated collection points before being transferred to recycling plants or landfills.

The provincial government intends to digitally monitor the new sanitation system to guarantee its effectiveness.

The minister said that the initiative would not only improve cleanliness and reduce environmental impact but also create new opportunities in the recycling industry.

Minister Rafique highlighted that Punjab generates 57,500 tonnes of solid waste daily, while municipal bodies can only collect about 18,000 tonnes, leaving a significant gap that contributes to environmental degradation.

To address this challenge, the government is finalising agreements with solid waste companies to ensure consistent waste collection and disposal.

Within the next four months, Punjab aims to have a unified sanitation system, thereby reducing the ecological footprint of unmanaged waste.

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