The Tiruchi Corporation conducted a mass drive to survey and inspect waste segregation and management across the city on Thursday morning.
All administrative and field staff accompanied sanitary workers and took part in the drive, across all residences in all four zones from 6 am to 8 am. Of the 74,900 houses surveyed, 553,059 of them were segregating the waste generated in a successful manner, they said.
Speaking to The Hindu , S. Sivasubramanian, Corporation Commissioner, said that the initiative would help the staff and the residents alike.
“All staff members, from the lowest ranks to the commissioner and assistant commissioner were given a list of houses to inspect. It gives us all a clear picture of the status of waste segregation in the city and helps make better policy decisions,” he said.
It is important for officials of the civic body to know the ground reality, he added.
Meanwhile, the residents were given demonstrations of the right way to segregate waste- into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Corporation officials also urged the residents to set up home composting to convert the biodegradable waste, usually kitchen waste, into compost. "The Corporation encourages home composting and will give assistance in setting up rooftop gardens. A plan to hand out home composting kits is also in the pipeline," an official of the corporation said.
During the drive, corporation officials inspected the waste segregation done by residents and advised those with a large amount of plastic waste to reduce it.
“We are aiming to be a plastic-free city and require the participation of the residents to achieve this,” Mr. Sivasubramanian said. The corporation currently utilises 214 mini-vans fitted with separate bins to collect waste.
Some parts of the city had grievances regarding waste collection, which were noted and soon addressed, Mr. Sivasubramanian said. The remaining households where source segregation was not being done were giving training on the same.
