It will soon be mandatory for residential apartments in the city to segregate the waste they generate, according to sources in the Chennai Corporation.
A senior corporation official said, “We are working on a proposal for compulsory source segregation at large residential apartments in the city. If the proposal is approved by the corporation council, then all the 15 zonal offices will send letters to large apartment complexes to undertake waste management projects. If the residential complexes do not initiate these projects, they will be fined.”
Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan said the civic body was planning to strictly enforce source segregation, especially in hotels and wedding halls, where they generate huge quantities of waste. “We have decided to conduct more raids at such places and the violators will be penalized,” he said.
C Ramakrishnan, secretary, federation of Adyar residents association, said, “We are happy to implement this project. But the exercise will be fulfilled only when all residential associations in the city coordinate with the corporation. The civic body should at least provide some bins for this project.”
The corporation website mentions that the dump yards in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi, where 4,500 tonnes of garbage is dumped daily, will run out of space by 2015. Residents living near the dumping yards have complained to the corporation about the burning of waste at these dump yards and said it affects their health.
Very few apartment complexes segregate waste at source. Aashiana, a 174-apartment complex in Alwarpet, has successfully implemented the source segregation project. Waste from the kitchen is segregated from the household garbage and is put in compost pits. The refuse is then used as manure.
“The segregation and composting of garbage within large apartment complexes and other institutions will reduce the pressure on landfills and dumping yards. The civic body also should provide funds and guidelines for the project,” said Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmentalist. Activists said source segregation for institutions and apartment complexes should be made compulsory like rain water harvesting.
Recently, the corporation council has approved the plan to set up integrated solid waste management plants at Kodungaiyur and Perungudi. Officials said more than 30 companies have shown interest in the plan.
Civic officials are also on the lookout for vacant landfills outside the city.
