Lucknow: From converting organic waste into manure and construction debris into paver tiles to reusing plastic waste in roads and furniture, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has increasingly focused on turning waste into valuable resources while reducing the burden on landfills.These initiatives have helped strengthen the city’s waste-management system and contributed to Lucknow securing third place in the Swachh Survekshan rankings.At the heart of the model is the Shivri waste processing plant, where LMC has partnered with a private firm to process 2,000 tonnes of fresh garbage daily. The civic body has also cleared 6.5 lakh tonnes of legacy waste accumulated over the years.Under the agreement, the nearly 125 tonnes of manure generated every day during waste processing is retained and utilised by the private operator, helping offset processing costs and reducing the financial burden on the civic body.LMC has also promoted the recycling of construction and demolition (C&D) waste through two processing plants, each handling around 150 tonnes of debris daily. About 10 tonnes is converted into value-added products such as interlocking paver tiles, concrete blocks, large flower pots and other construction materials. The remaining material is used in manufacturing tiles for roads and footpaths.The civic body has also used plastic waste in road construction and converted seized single-use plastic into furniture, extending the life cycle of material that would otherwise end up as waste.To improve collection and processing, LMC has deployed more than 1,250 electric vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection and established zonal waste-management centres across the city. The use of 96 electric road sweepers has also helped reduce PM10 levels by 41%, officials said.As part of its environmental initiatives, LMC has planted over three lakh saplings, including under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign, and developed more than 250 open gyms. Several former dumping sites have also been transformed into recreational spaces.Mayor Sushma Kharkwal thanked defence minister Rajnath Singh, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and state ministers AK Sharma and Suresh Khanna for their support.Outlining future plans, Kharkwal said compact garbage transfer stations would be installed in all LMC zones within six months to prevent open dumping. “We will also expedite the setting up of a waste-to-energy plant to make the city 100% garbage-free. Campaigns to increase green cover will also be intensified,” she said.Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar said user charges for door-to-door garbage collection have been linked to house tax to improve tracking of service coverage and payments.Additional municipal commissioner Arvind Kumar Rao said LMC was also planning a horticulture waste-processing plant, a bio-CNG facility and a waste-to-energy plant to further strengthen sustainable waste management and advance its zero-dump-site policy.
