It is only seven in the cold morning of January. But conservancy workers M. Veeramma and R. Muniammal are already up and about, collecting waste door-to-door at Kannanendal, ward 25 of Madurai Corporation. They do the rounds in a light commercial vehicle, which repeatedly plays a message, urging people to segregate waste before dumping. The waste collected is taken to the micro composting centre (MCC) in Menendal where wet waste is decomposed to produce manure.
As bins are being emptied at the centre, Ms. Veeramma digs her hand deep into a green bin filled with wet waste to fish out a shiny toffee wrapper. “Though we ask people to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, not many do it. So it becomes impossible to achieve 100% waste segregation,” she says.
With Kannanendhal having been declared a ‘model ward,’ in a move to make Madurai a ‘binless city, the Corporation is focusing on implementing solid waste management rules. But total compliance has not been achieved despite awareness campaigns. This has affected production of manure at the micro composting centre, an important component of decentralised waste management system.
Only a single dumper bin is present in the ward near Kannanendal bus terminus. Conservancy workers collect waste door-to-door on light commercial and battery-operated vehicles.
Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, stipulate that residents must segregate wet, dry, electronic and hazardous waste. While wet waste is decomposed at the MCC to produce manure, dry waste is sent to the Corporation dump at Vellaikkal, and hazardous and electronic waste is given to authorised collectors. Conservancy workers sell recyclable plastic products found in dry waste to traders and share the money among themselves.
Challenges
Corporation officials say only 70% of households in Kannanendal segregate waste. S. Muniandi, a resident of G.R. Nagar Fourth Street, says he has been segregating wet and dry waste. “There is a visible change in the last two months, as many households in the area have started segregating waste at source,” he says.
However, a good number of residents do not segregate waste, says N. Chinnarasu, a conservancy worker. “When we ask them to segregate waste, they shout at us saying that it is not their job but ours,” he says.
Many of these workers do not have gloves to handle the waste. “We wrap a piece of cloth or plastic cover around our arms,” says a worker.
After non-segregation of waste, the next major problem with the residents is that they dump dry, hazardous and electronic waste together.
“We know that sanitary and harardous waste, like napkins, diapers and damaged electronic gadgets, have to be segregated at source. But, lack of bins and time constraints are the main reasons for our not being able to follow it. Also, conservancy workers do not insist on it and they dump all waste together,” says Mr. Muniandi.
A Corporation official says that as part of the initial phase, they are trying to inculcate the practice of segregating wet waste, which goes to the MCC. “Once this becomes successful, we will start asking people to segregate waste into four categories. Also, we want the conservancy workers to get familiarised with this concept first,” the official says.
What happens to waste?
The wet waste from households is shredded and dumped into cubical cement tanks for decomposition. It is then dried and sieved to produce manure. The Corporation official says around 1.5 tonnes of wet waste is processed in the centre every day. “Around 750 kg of manure has been produced at the MCC in Menendhal, which has been functioning for the past two months. Interested people can purchase the manure free of cost from us,” says the official.
The manure is also used for raising saplings near the centre, using the Miyawaki method, a Japanese technique used to raise dense forests.
But wrappers of toffees, betel nut and foil papers were found in the dry manure.
“A 100% waste segregation at source by the residents is the only way to produce completely organic manure,” says Ms. Muniammal.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan says the civic body has been carrying out various awareness campaigns on waste segregation. “It is a shared responsibility and only if the residents cooperate can the mission be successful,” he says.
