Bengaluru: You cannot handover mixed waste to conservancy workers in Bengaluru from tomorrow (Wednesday). The conservancy workers will be empowered to say no to collecting unsegregated waste. The residents who refuse to toe the line will have to pay up.In yet another attempt to tackle its waste woes at the beginning of the cycle, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has made it mandatory to segregate at source from February 1. Having managed to get about 35 per cent of the city to segregate its waste, the BBMP has now set its sights on increasing this number to 60 per cent.

A part of its plan to achieve its self-set target is to collect only wet waste every day. “Sanitary waste, too, will be collected, as waste such as diapers cannot be stored in houses for long,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, BBMP. Dry waste collection will happen only twice a week.

He said that residents of individual homes, who refuse to segregate waste, will be penalised after the first week, starting with a Rs. 100 fine for the first offence. This amount will be increased with subsequent offences.