More than 60 conservancy workers of the Coimbatore Corporation are business partners of engineering graduates C. Prashanth (23), of Chinniyampalayam, and D. Saranraj (23), of Mudalipalayam.
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Prashanth and Saranraj started the wealth-from-waste business last August by segregating waste at source. The pilot project has a ward each at Ramanathapuram and Kovaipudur and a gated community near Ramanathapuram.
With a pushcart for every 300 houses, the conservancy workers set off every day at 6 a.m. and segregate degradable, recyclable and non-recyclable wastes at the doorstep of each house.
The workers bring the collected waste to the respective ward office at 11 a.m. The waste collected is weighed and sent to various destinations for further processing.
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Degradable waste accounts for 70 per cent of the garbage and is distributed free of cost to farmers after natural mulching. Non-recyclable waste that account for 15 per cent are sent to cement manufacturers for fuel.
“Another 15 per cent is the recyclable waste. Paper, plastic carry bags, and unusable plastic items fetch us money,” says Saranraj. These are sold to scrap dealers.
Conservancy workers are paid Rs. two to Rs. three a kg for collecting paper and carry bags and Rs. 10 to Rs. 12 a kg for bigger recyclable wastes and earn at least Rs. 50 every day, apart from their wages.
V. Prasad from Andhra Pradesh, a B.Sc. geology graduate, is also part of this project and measures the garbage collected every day. He makes Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 9,000 a month.
Prashanth and Saranraj make about Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 a month.