THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU DROP A THING IN THE DUSTBIN

  

We all very well know that wastes are of two types:

 Bio-degradable

Non- degradable

To start with, every household creates some waste everyday and it needs to be disposed of. As a first step if the waste is segregated properly, the work is half done.

Let’s see what segregation is and why it is necessary?

Household waste, also known as domestic Waste or residential waste, is disposable materials generated by households. This waste can be comprised of non-Hazardous Waste and hazardous waste. Non-hazardous waste can include food scraps, paper, bottles, etc.

 Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is any unwanted household product labeled as flammable, toxic, corrosive, or reactive. The most common products include aerosols, anti-freeze, asbestos, fertilizers, motor oil, paint supplies, photo chemicals, poisons, and solvents.

 When we segregate waste, it reduces the amount of waste that reaches landfills, thereby taking up less space. Pollution of air and water can be considerably reduced when hazardous waste is separated and treated separately. It is essential that waste is put in separate bins so that it can be appropriately dealt with.

 Waste segregation is included in law because it is much easier to recycle. Effective segregation of wastes means that less waste goes to landfill which makes it cheaper and better for people and the environment.

 The municipal corporations in some states in India are providing two dustbins to every household in red and green colour and insists them to segregate it properly. Notable changes and improvement in waste management are evident in the state like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with the distribution of colour bins.

 HOW WASTE MANAGEMENT IS HANDLED IN CHENNAI?

Source separation is promoted to reduce the waste coming to the Landfill, thereby increasing the life time of the Landfills. The bio-degradable waste (Organic Waste) is being composted in a decentralized manner at ward level by Ordinary and Vermi compost plants and Bio methanation plants and manure used for GCC parks and greeneries besides open sale to public also. Source separated thin plastics are subjected to shredding in all units / zones and it has been used for laying Bituminous road laying. The source Separated non- biodegradable (Dry Waste) collected on every Wednesdays for recycling.

THE PROCESS INVOLVES:

• Street collection to disposal site.
• Transportation to disposal site from transfer station.
• Collecting the Source Separated Waste from the Households by Tricycles or Light Motor Vehicles and bio degradable waste is being sent to decentralized waste processing facilities and dry waste is being collected every Wednesday for recycle purpose and remaining waste to transfer Stations/dump sites

WHAT THE AUTHOROTIES SAY?

“The SWM Rules 2016, clearly calls for three way segregation of waste at source and each waste has clear destinations. In the case of Chennai, organic waste at the micro compost centres, dry waste at the material recovery facilities. In a ward, approximately you will receive 7 to 8 tonnes of compostable waste and 2 to 3 tons of recyclable waste, if we are able to follow this properly at all wards and ensure that these waste reach their right destinations, we will not need to dump waste in the landfills”, adds Natarajan. “GCC needs to streamline MCCs, MRFs and make Bulk Generators manage their waste. This is the only way forward”.

 

A BEST FOOT FORWARD:

A few areas have managed to go bin-less successfully, however. THIRUVEEDHI AMMAN KOVIL STREET is an example of this. The work was largely carried out by the residential welfare association in the area. One of the first steps towards removing the bins, was to adopt waste segregation in every household. This was initiated as early as 2013. A key difference from the other examples is that they also set up common compost pits for all houses and apartments, to process wet waste. A majority of manure generated from the compost pits is used for the street garden, and the remaining is sent to the corporation’s dry leaf composting unit at a park in the vicinity.

These are the few steps taken in Chennai towards waste management. Let us all support by contributing our bit and make our place a better place to live in.

(This blogpost is part of  Blog Chatter’s CauseAChatter)