Bhubaneswar, Nov 27: In a major push toward a zero-waste and climate-resilient city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a new initiative to decentralise organic waste management by partnering with seven organisations involved in pig farming for scientific reuse of food waste.

Under the initiative, BMC has empanelled seven Organic Waste Collection Partners (OWCPs) through formal agreements, allowing them to collect bulk organic waste from across the city. The move aims to significantly reduce the volume of waste reaching landfills and promote circular-economy practices.

According to BMC officials, Bhubaneswar generates nearly 15 tonnes of leftover food daily, a large portion of which originates from hotels, restaurants, hostels and other bulk waste generators. To streamline the system, all bulk generators have been digitally tagged and assigned authorised collectors across municipal zones.

The empanelled pig-rearing units, located outside Bhubaneswar in different districts, have each been registered after paying an annual licence fee of Rs 5,000 and signing a direct memorandum of understanding with BMC. The collected food waste will now be diverted for reuse as animal feed instead of being dumped, helping reduce methane emissions and easing the waste-handling load on the city.

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BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana directed the rollout of the initiative, which officials say supports national solid-waste management goals and global climate-resilient city benchmarks. The system is expected to improve environmental health while promoting ethical, scientific waste reuse.

BMC Additional Commissioner Kailash Chandra Das and Deputy Commissioner N Ganesh Babu are overseeing the implementation.