Shunya project: a success story in Ward 23

The door-to-door collection of wastes has resulted in zero littering on the street

The civic body has begun removing bins from streets in Ward 23 following the success of the zero waste management project. Photo: M. Periasamy

A rough, back-of-the-page calculation has revealed that the Coimbatore Corporation has saved over Rs. 12 lakh in the past year in fuel expenditure as the number of lorry trips carrying wastes from R.S. Puram to the Vellalore dump yard got reduced.

The very calculation has also revealed that the 20-odd workers in Ward 23 also earned Rs. 4.42 lakh in the same period by selling paper and cardboards to ITC, which bought it at Rs. 3 a kg.

The Corporation was able to achieve this feat, thanks to the Shunya zero waste management project it implemented in the Ward in association with ICLEI, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC), Siruthuli, and a few other organisations. They joined hands to collect segregated waste from all the households in the ward, coerced recalcitrant among those, encouraged commercial establishments except eateries to handover dry wastes to workers and that resulted in cent per cent compliance, says R. Raveendran, Honorary Secretary, RAAC.

The Corporation was forced to disconnect water supply for a couple of apartments in the area as they failed to comply with even after the civic body officials and volunteers engaged them to segregate waste, says an officer adding, one apartment or house handing over mixed waste was enough to spoil the show.

The door-to-door collection of wastes resulted in zero littering on the street and thereby eliminated the need for bins; the civic body has removed 89 bins. The officer says that the civic body took the wet waste (waste from the kitchen) to Onapalayam, converted it to manure and returned it to the residents for use in gardens. It has stocked the surplus for sale.

East Periasamy Road resident Geeta Sridhar says that a year on, the segregated waste collection system has been near-successful.

Occasionally when a resident or two hands over mixed waste, the workers refuse to collect it and that ensures cent per cent segregated collection.

She adds: the best thing about the project is that it continues despite the change in the Corporation leadership and that is what has sustained the project to a great extent, as it has become institutionalised.

According to sources in the Corporation, there are plans to extend the waste collection system to 99 wards.