Tiruchi Corporation has taken steps to establish a construction waste recycling plant at Ariyamangalam to collect, process and reuse building debris in the city.
Considering the surge in the accumulation of construction waste, the civic body mooted a proposal to set up the recycling plant in 2023. On average, Tiruchi city generates about 25 metric tonnes of construction and debris waste every day.
The plant would come up on a two-acre land at the Ariyamangalam dump yard at an estimated cost of ₹6 crore. “A detailed report has been completed, and preliminary work is under way to establish the centre,” said a senior Corporation official. The project is expected to be materialised by June.
The facility, with the capacity to process 50 tonnes of construction waste per day, would be established using the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) recycling plant under the public-private partnership model.
A private agency will be roped in to collect debris from builders and residents, and transport and recycle it in the plant to produce flooring tiles and pavement blocks that will be used by the Corporation for its projects.
An awareness programme would also be conducted to encourage the effective collection, transportation, processing and disposal in the designed facility. The civic body is also in the process of earmarking four collection points across the city to dump the construction waste from where the agency would collect it.
Officials said that the plant, apart from finding a solution for the indiscriminate dumping of construction waste near waterbodies and vacant spaces, will generate revenue through the DBFOT system and help the city improve its Swachh Survekshan cleanliness rankings.