Waste Management

"Transferring waste from one area to another area involves carbon footprint and it's an environmental injustice to dump garbage from one place at another, resulting in an unhealthy environment for residents of other areas," says Geo Damin, an environmental activist with Poovulagin Nanbargal. In recent years, Chennai has attempted to revamp its waste management system to reduce the quantum of waste reaching landfills. Under the decentralised waste management system adopted to achieve this goal, large apartment complexes and commercial establishments that are classified as Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs) are responsible for handling their own waste with the help of vendors.…

It has been seven years since the Central Pollution Control Board came up with the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. But many conservancy workers like Ramesh* and Sivaraman* come across bio-medical waste in Chennai while handling municipal waste often. "There have been over 25 instances of illegal dumping of bio-medical waste in Chennai and its suburbs the last four years alone," says V Pugalvendhan, a social activist who has been tracking and reporting bio-medical waste disposal violations since 2019. Even in January 2023, there was an instance of bio-medical waste dumping in Adyar bund near Kolapakkam, which is a suburb…

A common sight across Chennai is garbage bins overflowing with unsegregated waste, with some of it pooling on the ground around the bins. The stench emanating from the bins is bound to make anyone gag. Not only are the sight and smell unpleasant, but they are also a recipe for health and environmental hazards. With this in mind, the residents of Valmiki Nagar in Thiruvanmiyur have been able to do away with large garbage bins that had been placed on the street.   The residents managed this feat with meticulous source segregation, constant dialogue with the community and ensuring that the…

Translated by Sandhya Raju பிளாஸ்டிக் பைகள், உபயோகப்பட்ட டயப்பர்கள், வீணாக்கப்பட்ட உணவுகள், சில சமயம் உபயோகப்பட்ட மருத்துவ ஊசிகள். இது போன்ற பொருட்களை தினந்தோறும் தன் பணியின் போது பிரிக்கிறார் தூய்மை பணியாளர் ரமேஷ்*. “கைகள் வெயர்த்து போகும் என்பதால் எப்பொழுதும் நாங்கள் கையுறையை உபயோகிப்பதில்லை,” என்கிறார் ரமேஷ்.  இது போன்ற கடுமையான சூழலில் சொற்ப சம்பளத்திற்கு தான் நகரத்தில் தூய்மை பணியாளர்கள் வேலை செய்கிறார்கள். பெரும் சவாலாக உள்ள போக்குவரத்து பெரும்பாலான தூய்மை பணியாளர்கள் தங்கள் இருப்பிடத்திலிருந்து வெகு தூரம் பணிக்கு செல்ல வேண்டியுள்ளது.    “காலையில் 3 மணிக்கு எழுந்து, சமைத்து, வீட்டை சுத்தம் செய்து, இரண்டு பேருந்து மாறி பணியிடத்திற்கு செல்ல வேண்டும். காலை 6-6.30 மணிக்குள் பயோமெட்ரிக்கில் வருகையை பதிவு செய்ய வேண்டும். ஐந்து நிமிடம் தாமதானாலும், எங்கள் மேற்பார்வையாளர் வீட்டிற்கு திருப்பி அனுப்பி விடுவார் அல்லது அந்த நாள் சம்பளத்தை பிடித்தம் செய்து…

In 2017, 3Wayste-- a French firm--submitted a proposal to the Government of Karnataka (GoK) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to implement an integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management project at Chikkanagamangala.  Using the company's proprietary, patented waste-to-energy technology, the plant would generate electricity from processing MSW, i.e refuse derived fuel (RDF), converting the existing MSW-processing plant to an incineration-based WTE plant.   The plant was intended to process 500 tonnes of mixed waste (300 tonnes supplied by the BBMP, and 200 tonnes from other sources). 3Wayste proposed to process refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to generate 9.2 MW of power.   After 3Wayste…

Plastic wrappers, soiled diapers and sanitary pads, food waste, and sometimes a used syringe. The bare hands of Ramesh*, a conservancy worker in Chennai, sift through these items inside discarded by residents as he tries to segregate waste on a daily basis. "We do not always use gloves because our hands sweat and become clammy," says Ramesh. This is one among myriad issues faced by a majority of the city’s conservancy workers who work under harsh conditions for meagre pay. Commute a key issue for conservancy workers in Chennai A majority of the conservancy workers are assigned work in areas…

It has been a year since the launch of a bio-CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) plant in Chetpet by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in partnership with Srinivas Waste Management Solutions Pvt Ltd. Around 100 tons of vegetable and food waste from Koyambedu market and hotels are processed every day and converted into bio-CNG. This renewable source of energy is sold to the Gas Authority Of India Limited (GAIL) and various hotels whose reliance on conventional energy has drastically reduced as a result.  A similar plant at Madhavaram was inaugurated about six months ago but is yet to be functional as it…

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), has conducted the Swachh Survekshan survey annually for the past seven years. The survey assesses the cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation of India's urban local bodies (ULBs). The survey looks at the collection of waste, segregation at source, processing and disposal of waste and sustainable sanitation. While Chennai's performance has seen an improvement over the years, the city is far from meeting the criteria on parameters such as going binless, banning the use of plastic and achieving a reduction in the quantum of waste being landfilled. Reporting…

The sight of piles of waste strewn on roads, footpaths, underneath flyovers, lake beds, and other vacant areas has become so common for Bengalureans that most of us don’t even notice what it consists of. It is waste, but all waste is not the same. These piles comprise different types of waste. There is biodegradable waste, like food waste and paper, and non-biodegradable items, like plastics, metal, glass etc. However, a big volume consists of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, including concrete, stone debris, commodes, tiles etc. Have you wondered why this waste is dumped across the city and if…

Waste management in Chennai has been a problem that the city has struggled to solve over the years. With the launch of the new system of source segregation and emphasis on cleanliness as part of Singara Chennai 2.0, there was renewed hope that there will be cleaner streets. Unfortunately, the experience of the residents of my apartment complex in Anna Nagar has called into question how effective the recent efforts have been. At the heart of the issue is the placement of three garbage bins on our street and the scenes that ensued after.  Garbage bins moved near homes We…