There is so much talk about waste segregation, but there are only a few who judiciously follow it. As a community initiative, the practice has not yet picked steam. But a change of attitude seems to be on the way.
Raising hope, the B Sector Women’s Wing, Anna Nagar Western Extn (ANWE), along with the Corporation, has, through routine door-to-door checks, ensured that residents segregate waste regularly as a practice.
They women who did this task commendably have been awarded.
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ANWE is an active group with around 45 members. “We approached close to 60 houses on 6 and 8 streets in B sector. We gave 30 small bags to collect degradable waste and five bags for non-degradable waste.
The bags had the words 'degradable' and 'non-degradable' written on them. Along with it, we gave them Daily Garbage Segregation Card,” says president Rajathi Rajendran.To make sure that residents know what kind of waste is degradable and non-degradable, pamphlets were distributed with all necessary information. “We had asked them to keep separate bins for each kind of waste. The small bags with degradable waste were collected daily and the big bags with non-degradable waste, weekly. Not just that, a Corporation supervisor visited every house to sign on the Card,” she says.Even the volunteers of ANWE went on rounds daily to ensure people were doing it right. In a function held recently, 28 women were honoured by Corporation officials for successfully segregating waste for a month. “The volunteers went around and interacted with residents and took their feedback. Thirty days later, all the Cards were verified and 28 women were honoured for their sincere involvement.”After the success of this venture, ANWE has plans to reach out to over 600 residents of the area.“It is necessary that people must understand the importance of waste segregation. Our next plan is to teach people how to convert degradable waste into manure,” she says.