Chennai Corporation has started collecting segregated waste from homes, institutions and commercial establishments in all zones.
The civic body has directed all the 16,004 conservancy workers to stop collecting recyclable waste on a daily basis. The workers will collect only biodegradable waste. “They will visit homes to collect recyclable waste only on Wednesday,” said an official.
The civic body conducted awareness drive in all zones, distributed pamphlets and advised bulk generators of waste.
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“We started source segregation today. The response is good,” said Corporation Commissioner and Special Officer D.Karthikeyan.
As many as 5,714 bulk generators, including hotels and gated communities have been asked to manage waste on their premises. Royapuram has the largest number of bulk generators as 4,219 commercial outlets and gated communities have been found generating more than 100 kg of waste per day.
According to estimates, the amount of municipal solid waste dumped every day in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur is set to reduce by 30% in two months.
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“Residents have been requested to dump only biodegradable waste in bins. They have been requested to store recyclable waste and hand over the material to conservancy workers who visit homes every Wednesday," said an official.
According to a study on waste characterisation in Chennai, just 38.25% of municipal solid waste in the city is rapidly biodegradable. Recyclable materials constitute 31.55% of the waste, metals 0.2%, inerts 23.15%, construction and demolition waste 6.79%, medical waste 0.1% and household hazardous waste constitute 0.12%.
After implementation of all proposals relating to solid waste management in the city, just 20% of the waste is expected to reach two landfills in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur.
“We will give bulk generators two to three months’ time to develop facilities for managing the waste,” said an official. The new initiatives have been planned based on the provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016.