Mumbai: Plastic bottle-crushing machine installed at Sion Hospital

Pic/BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has installed a plastic bottle-crushing machine at Lokmanya Tilak Hospital in Mumbai's Sion area.

The Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, also known as Sion Hospital, has become the first BMC-run hospital to have a plastic bottle-crushing machine.

The civic body has installed a plastic bottle-crushing machine at Lokmanya Tilak Hospital as part of measures to make it a plastic-free zone.

"Patients and their families coming to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation hospitals often use unsealed and easily available plastic bottles for drinking water. After the bottled water runs out, the bottles go in the trash. However, due to the characteristic shapes of these bottles, a large space is occupied by these bottles in the garbage. It also makes the segregation of waste relatively difficult. Keeping all these aspects in mind, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Sudhakar Shinde had asked Lokmanya Tilak Hospital administration to install a plastic bottle crushing machine," the civic body said in a statement.

According to the instructions given by Dr. Sudhakar Shinde, a plastic bottle-crushing machine has recently been installed at Lokmanya Tilak Hospital. "As a result, the number of bottles in the overall waste will decrease, and it will be easier to separate and manage that waste. At the same time, since the plastic bottles used by the machine will be used for recycling, it will also be a supplement to the environment," Dr Mohan Joshi, Sion Hospital Dean, said.

"Plastic bottle crushing machine has been installed at Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, which is moving forward towards achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and the waste handling and subsequent disposal of the waste will now become easier. At the same time, this machine will also be effective in contributing to more efficient waste recycling and reducing the environmental impact of plastic waste," Dr Mohan Joshi said.

Meanwhile, Stop-work notices have been issued to 859 construction sites in Mumbai in the last two months and a fine of Rs 2 lakh each has been imposed on two construction firms for violating norms aimed at curbing air pollution, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Friday.

Show-cause notices were served to 603 construction sites and notices were issued to a total of 2,955 constructions for not following the guidelines during this period, it said in a release.

A fine of Rs 2 lakh each was imposed on two companies in the Grant Road area here on Friday for violating the guidelines, the civic body added.