The Coimbatore Integrated Waste Management Company, responsible for handling segregated waste at the city’s Vellalore landfill, has reported 0% segregated waste intake for the third consecutive month in January.
Despite orders from the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal in August 2017, October 2022 and November 2023 mandating 100% waste segregation by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) before dumping at Vellalore, the situation persists.
According to workers at the landfill interviewed by The Hindu, out of the daily 1200 metric tonnes (MT) of waste collected in the city, approximately 1050 MT are delivered to the site. However, all of this constitutes mixed waste, with more than half being non-segregable either manually or mechanically.
“In some instances, wet waste is left in plastic boxes. The waste dries but the plastic melts when left in the sun or inside a car parked in the open. The waste is now completely mixed. How are we to segregate and process it?” a worker asked.
Furthermore, despite the presence of micro composting centres (MCCs) in the city, several private companies have noted that trucks from these centres arrive at the landfill carrying mixed waste. An employee at the site said, “There isn’t enough waste being processed because the same waste diverted to the centres from households can be seen sent to Vellalore.”
However, CCMC Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabhakaran reported an increase in waste segregation from 148 MT to 290 MT per day in February. “We have deployed more vehicles for waste collection, supervised by dedicated staff to ensure segregated waste collection at the source. We plan to implement this city-wide soon.”
Additionally, a route chart for waste collection vehicles has been created, but irregularities in their movement have been observed, deviating from the specified map. Mr. Prabhakaran addressed this issue, stating, “We have been investigating discrepancies in waste collection in each zone. Each area faces different challenges, and we are addressing them sequentially.”
