Officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) told The Hindu that a spike in generation of waste is witnessed primarily on two occasions — during Ganesh Chaturthi and Ramzan. And with restaurants and eateries doing brisk business in the holy month, the city sees an additional waste generation of up to approximately 300 metric tonnes per day.

“Plastic is used for containers to store or serve edible items. The spoons and bowls, particularly used by haleem outlets, are made of plastic. Then there are those who use use polythene bags to carry food and other items. At times, this poses a problem as waste is dumped into nalas by some people,” a GHMC official said.

Explaining the trends in waste generation, Project Director of GHMC’s Swachh Bharat Mission Soma Bharat said the daily generation of waste ranges roughly between 4,600 and 5,000 metric tonnes per day. “During Ramzan, an additional 200 metric tonnes to 300 tonnes is generated per day. Of this, around 20% is plastic waste,” he said.

Officials said to tackle disposal of waste, the GHMC had a meeting with owners of restaurants and eateries. A circular has been sent to officials instructing them to complete de-silting by May 16 and ensure garbage lifting around masjids every day.

“In fact, it was only last month that we had a meeting with shopkeepers regarding the use of plastic. We are also incentivising the non-use of plastic,” said GHMC Additional Commissioner (SWM-HIMWS and Sanitation) Smriti Ojha.