The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) which plagues Bengaluru is also a matter of concern for London. Unlike Bengaluru, the advantage the European City has is a total transparency in its financial dealings.
Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Executive Director of Development, Enterprise and Environment in Office of London Mayor, Greater London Authority, (the equivalent of our BBMP Commissioner), who is in the City, said garbage is an issue in London and the City administration has initiated certain measures to deal with it.
“We are giving money to the small businesses to try out various solutions to minimise waste. Waste-to-energy is one such solution,” Smith said.
Waste-to-energy
Explaining the waste-to-energy project, she said cooking oil from restaurants is being used to make bio-diesel. She said, “We are running 20 buses using bio-diesel. We are blending 40 per cent of bio-diesel with fossil fuel. These are the small ideas, which will help us.”
London is also incinerating waste but the electricity consumption and emission are too high and thus it is not suitable during the winter season, said Smith. She added that the best method is in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark which has adopted the best technology for incinerating waste.
Regarding Bengaluru’s garbage woes, her suggestion was to try out the latest technologies available. Plastic bags too have a fair share in polluting the European City.
Like Bengaluru, sewage is a big problem that has started to pollute River Thames. “Most of our sewerage was laid during Queen Victoria era sometime between 1880 and 1890. Now it has to be replaced,” said Smith.
On Thursday, Smith held talks with Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Dinesh Gundu Rao, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner G Kumar Naik and some other officials regarding the common challenges confronted by the two cities and the solutions being worked out.
Published 05 February 2016, 20:31 IST