Coimbatore Corporation and the district administration convened a meeting on Monday to tackle the escalating issue of open dumping and inadequate waste management in the city. Together, they have formulated a draft plan in collaboration with various stakeholders.
The strategy entails the involvement of multiple entities including resident welfare associations, non-profit organisations, private companies, local residents, college students, Corporation officials, and volunteers. While the implementation plan is still pending, authorities have directed the parties concerned to initiate awareness campaigns in specific wards across all zones.
For example, the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) will focus on five wards in partnership with Sahodaya, an association representing 170 private schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, to conduct awareness initiatives targeting students.
RAAC also plans to engage all Corporation and government schools within the city to educate students from Class V to X about source segregation and proper waste disposal methods. RAAC president Ravindran said, “The plan includes implementation of activities such as waste segregation card game to educate children about sorting waste into different colour bins.”
Another initiative involves students bringing dry waste from their homes on designated days, which will be weighed, and students will receive prizes like books and pens to emphasise the value of waste and the potential of selling it to scrap dealers.
Further, a partnership with a paper manufacturing company has been proposed for the conversion of garden waste into briquettes with a calorific value exceeding 4,000. Tie-ups with fibre manufacturers and scrap vendors for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle upcycling has also been planned.
Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabhakaran said, ”Around 200 supervisors will be hired through contractors to oversee waste collection vehicles and ensure proper waste segregation at source. In addition, 25 sanitation inspectors will be designated as sector officers to supervise each sector daily.”
The plan also includes the installation of GPS systems in all waste collection vehicles to track whether they are collecting waste as per the route chart designed by the civic body.
