Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has decided to set up flower waste processing units to make incense sticks and gulal from the flower waste generated by temples across the city. Around two quintals of flower waste are generated from around 700 temples in the city daily, according to BMC officials.
BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation) Manaranjan Sahu said, “BMC will set up the processing units and provide land, while a private party will install the machineries and carry out the processing.We have floated a tender inviting application from private parties. We will make sure that flowers used during puja in various temples are not littered and thrown in water bodies. They will be collected in specialised vehicles from the temples and will be brought to the processing units.”
According to the BMC plan, the private party responsible for running and maintaining the processing units will fetch profit from the sale proceeds of the incense sticks and will share some of the revenue with the civic body. “The onus of collecting the flower waste will be on BMC. The private party will share the profit (based on agreement) with the BMC. Even at the household level, people can keep puja waste in separate containers and give them to the waste workers when they come for collection. They will then send the bulk to the incense making unit,” Sahu added.
On any given day, BMC handles around 550-600 metric tonnes of municipal waste generated from the city. During festivals, the quantity of puja waste increases.
“The processing of flower waste will help check littering and keep water bodies and drains clean. We don’t want to dump the flower waste in yards or process it into manure because people’s religious sentiments are attached to it,” a BMC officer said.

We also published the following articles recently