In an effort to involve residents of the city in solid waste management, Tiruchi Corporation has decided to ask resident welfare associations of gated communities and apartments to set up facilities of their own for disposal.
The initiative, which is aimed at disposing the waste at source itself, is expected to be launched soon.
The Corporation, which has taken a number of initiatives to prevent dumping of waste at Ariyamangalam dump yard, estimates that the waste generated from apartments, gated communities and bulk waste generators constitute about 3% of the total waste generated in the city daily.
There are about 500 apartments and 10 gated communities spread across the city, but Srirangam, Cantonment, Thillai Nagar, Woraiyur, Kumaran Nagar and Ramalinga Nagar houses have more of these dwellings.
Under the existing system, apartment dwellers have to segregate waste into degradable and non-degradable and hand them over to garbage collectors appointed by the Corporation.
Under the new initiative, they will have to establish customised solid waste management facilities so as to dispose garbage at source from time of implementation of the new proposal.
“We have planned to ask the apartments and gated communities to set up solid waste management system, and have initiated the process of consulting all stakeholders,” S. Sivasubramanian, Commissioner, Tiruchi Corporation, told The Hindu .
There are a number of avenues to dispose of waste at source. While non-degradable waste can be sent for recycling, degradable waste can be processed to produce organic manure, he said.
Bulk waste generators such as hotels, restaurants, hostels and marriage halls have already been asked to set up waste management system at their location. Some of them have already established such facilities. Similarly, apartments too can set up such facilities.
However, the Corporation is not in a hurry to implement the new proposal. The flat and gated community promoters can provide such facilities while constructing new flats.
It will help flat dwellers and office-bearers to imbibe the practice of managing waste at source, the civic chief added.
