Greater Chennai Corporation is set to launch initiative to control marine plastic pollution and riverine plastic pollution.
With support from The Energy and Resources Institute, the civic body plans to reduce the flow of plastic waste from the city into the ocean.
The civic body has already created barriers in Cooum and Adyar rivers to trap plastic waste, cleaning these stretches at regular intervals.
However, plastic waste continues to flow into the sea. River banks, including those of the Cooum, have huge quantities of plastic waste trapped in the soil and these are washed into the sea whenever there is flood. As a first step to prevent this, the civic body is planning to resume strict enforcement of plastic ban in all divisions. Shopkeepers had been warned about illegal use of plastic bags last week. The civic body will create awareness about plastic pollution among city residents. “We will sensitise communities near the beaches. A massive drive to prevent dumping of plastic waste in the sea will begin shortly. Residents will be asked to stop dumping waste in the Buckingham Canal, the Cooum, the Kosasthalaiyar and the Adyar,” said an official.
