BMC to buy 48 big compactors with EURO IV engines

The BMC has floated tender to buy big compactors with EURO IV engines, considered environment-friendly, to improve waste collection in parts of the city. The corporation at present requires 988 vehicles for the job, and it already has 875, officials claimed.

According to the tender, BMC plans to buy 48 six-tonne compactors. They are normally used to lift refuse from transfer stations to dumping grounds. Transfer stations are mini yards set up to collect waste generated in an area. From here, refuse is transferred to larger dumping grounds. As per a BMC estimate, nearly 10,000 metric tonnes of waste and debris are generated daily in BMC-administered area.

"We have floated a tender to buy and maintain compactors for seven years. We are phasing out vehicles which are more than eight years old. We are buying 48 new big compactors as part of this scheme," deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management) Prakash Patil said.

According to sources in the SWM department, wards like A (Fort, Nariman Point), B (Dongri), C (Chandanwadi), H-East (Bandra, Khar) and K-East and K-West (Andheri) have reported poor garbage collection. This problem will be tackled by deploying additional vehicles, officials said.

"We deploy vehicles depending on the requirement. If waste generation is on the higher side, we deploy more vehicles," Patil said.

He added that the proposal for the deal would be placed before the standing committee, which would take the financial decision in two months time.

The BMC owns 30 per cent of the total number of vehicles required to transport waste. The rest are supplied by private parties. Last year, BMC bought 38 mini (1 tonne) and 69 big compactors with EURO IV engines.