MMC Collects Over 2.5 Tonnes of Sacred Waste Across Uppal and Nearby Zones

More than 2.5 tonnes of sacred waste has been collected by the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) from the Uppal, LB Nagar, and Malkajgiri zones under a specialized civic collection and recycling initiative.

The civic body is implementing an end-to-end management process where religious materials are first ritually handed over through an Udvasana puja performed by temple priests. The materials are then dismantled and segregated before being transferred to authorized recycling agencies.

Malkajgiri Municipal Commissioner T. Vinay Krishna Reddy explained that the disposal of sacred items, including photo frames, forms a distinct component of waste accumulating across the city. The initiative has helped reduce the common practice of leaving religious materials under trees and in public spaces, with increasing numbers of residents utilizing the service.

The primary objective of the collection, segregation, and recycling process is to prevent sacred waste from being dumped into landfills, open yards, or water bodies, and to ensure it does not mix with standard municipal garbage.

Collected items are sorted into categories such as clay, metal, paper, cloth, and plastic. Idols composed of Plaster of Paris, plastic, and other non-biodegradable substances are also provided to authorized recyclers, who evaluate what materials can be processed or reused.

Residents who cannot easily reach central collection points can leave their sacred items and old photographs at their nearest temple. These materials will then be picked up during subsequent collection rounds and integrated into the processing network.

Depending on the accumulated volume, items are either dispatched immediately for processing or stored temporarily at local temples or community halls. The civic body plans to hold sacred waste collection rounds on the third Saturday of each month, with the next drive scheduled for August 22 across approximately 14 temples.

The corporation maintains monitoring throughout the process until recycling begins. Other civic authorities, including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC), are also adopting similar collection and recycling measures for religious items.