Conservancy workers of Chennai Corporation have been permitted to purchase recyclable waste from households, at the rate of Rs.5 a kg, and make profit by selling them. A resolution to this effect was passed by the Corporation Council at its meeting on Tuesday.
The approval is part of the civic body's initiative to promote source segregation and to reduce the amount of recyclable waste in the dumping yards, Mayor M.Subramanian said. The Corporation would sanction Rs.2,000 each to the conservancy workers as advance towards purchasing the recyclable waste, he added.
On April 18, the Corporation had launched a scheme, to promote segregation of recyclable wastes, by distributing bags to residents of 16 wards in six zones. Under the scheme, every household is provided a bag for collection of recyclable waste for sale to the conservancy workers. The civic body would also provide weighing machines for the conservancy workers.
The initiative of buying recyclable waste is already being implemented by ITC Ltd in parts of Zone 5 (Kilpauk). The waste is purchased at the rate of Rs.2 per kg. The Corporation had called for expression of interest (EOI) from companies that wanted to emulate the ITC model.
As the response was not encouraging, it decided to implement the project by providing incentives to its own conservancy staff.
Perungudi yard
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Subramanian said that the work on the integrated solid waste management project at the Perungudi dump yard would be launched on July 1.
“The Rs.70 crore facility will be commissioned on a 30-acre area and the rest of the 170 acre [of the dump yard] will become a green area,” the Mayor said.
The project would be implemented in 18 months and the civic body would supply 1,400 tonnes of waste a day to the facility, he said.
