Piles of domestic garbage dumped at empty plots or road corners is a common sight in various residential areas of the city over the last few months.
While residents complain of official apathy, the civic body says some sanitary workers and the public are to blame for the situation. The Tiruchi Corporation, in 2019, removed almost all the 1,172 dustbins across the city in an attempt to encourage door-to-door collection and decentralisation of waste, which were collected at micro composting yards. The plan, according to some officials of the corporation, has backfired as dumping in the open has become rampant. “Matters became worse during the lockdown. Only penalisation will help now,” a senior official said.
The civic body has roped in self-help groups (SHG) to man the 200 mini trucks utilised for the door-to-door collection. “These SHGs are on a contract-basis and some of them collect garbage on alternate days. Who is to the blamed if residents of a household choose to dump them in public places instead of giving it to the sanitary workers,?” a sanitary supervisor wondered. A supervisor must insist that waste is collected from all houses every day, he added.
Residents need to understand the importance of avoiding dumping waste in public places, another official said. “The stench and piles of garbage could cause health complications. The leachate from the garbage could seep into the groundwater which we drink. People must be aware of this issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, Corporation Commissioner S. Sivasubramanian said a mass cleaning drive has been kicked off with earthmovers, trucks and sanitary workers across all 65 zones to clear the garbage.
Since the civic body stopped collection of waste from commercial establishments, including hotels and hostels, the total waste collected each day has reduced by at least 100 tonnes. The total waste collected in the city is now around 300 tonnes, of which at least 30 tonnes is collected from Gandhi Market alone, Mr. Sivasubramanian said. The 31 micro composting yards in the city collect five tonnes of waste each, of which at least 150 tonnes is converted into compost. The remaining waste is processed at Ariyamangalam dump yard, he said.
“So, dumping in public places may amount to about five tonnes of waste. Our officials are going door-to-door to create awareness of dumping waste in the open and also insisting on waste segregation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the civic body, in an attempt to increase the frequency of door-to-door collection, has purchased 35 mini trucks of a larger capacity. “The ones we have can cover 1,500 houses. But the new ones can collect waste from 2,000 houses,” he said. Compact bins will also be set up at areas with a floating population, including at bus stands, and in places where tourist footfall is high, he added.
