City council looks to slash fee on large waste disposals

Male City Council has started work to reduce the cost of disposing large waste such as furniture and household appliances in order to tackle the problem of large waste left on the streets during the month of Ramadan.

Every Ramadan, the country's capital witnesses a surge in trash left piled up on street corners. The traditional annual replacement of household electronics and furniture invites the easy and cheaper way out to leave old applicances and furniture on the street.

The reason could be that the price of hiring a vehicle to dispose of the trash legally is atrocious and unaffordable for many, combined with the conviction that some government body will clean up the streets anyway.

This year, the problem has recurred, and the city council is collecting tons of garbage every day. The council has taken another step; they are now finding those who arrange the garbage so nicely on the streets and imposing fines on them.

However, garbage dumping onto the streets has not still stopped. The city council removed 19 tons of garbage from the streets of the capital city on Saturday alone.

Speaking to Atoll Times about the efforts being made to resolve the issue, Mayor Adam Azim said:

"We are looking to introduce a convenient and affordable system for households to dispose of such large waste by registering. I will hopefully make the streets of the city a beautiful and clean place," Azim said, noting he did require public cooperation to realise it.

According to Azim, there are two main reasons why these large waste items end up on the streets during Ramadan.

Azim said the prices charged by private vehicles to collect large waste such as refrigerators and furniture items is too high.

"Some pickups are charging MVR 1,500 to dispose of one mattress. This is a huge amount. We understand that it is an unreasonable price to dispose of such garbage. It should be do-able for MVR 250," Azim said.

However, Azim also stressed the importance of individual civic responsibility. He noted that no one should dump garbage on the streets.

Azim added that the amount of garbage collected on the streets during the Ramadan month has decreased since the fines were being imposed. When the city first started collecting garbage from the streets nearing Ramadan, it had to collect 60 tonnes of garbage per day, he said. That number has now been reduced to 19 tonnes.

WAMCO also provides pickup services for households to dispose of large waste such as furniture. The service, called Call and Pickup Service (CAPS), can be requested by calling 1666.

CAPS rates are:

Private pickups also reduced their rates somewhat this month.

The changes are: