‘Segregating waste is key to management’

Experts call for coordinated approach

December 13, 2018 01:06 am | Updated 01:06 am IST - CHENNAI

Did you know that the 5Rs of respect, refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle are key to managing the solid waste that is generated in our homes?

For a city that produces more than 5,000 tonnes of garbage a day and sends it entirely to two dump sites that are not even scientific landfills, only segregation of the waste into what is compostable and recyclable, will help solve the problem, say experts including ecologist Sultan Ahmed Ismail and P. Natarajan of Namma Ooru Foundation.

Of the garbage that comes from homes daily, 60% is wet waste and can be dealt with easily. Only 30% is recyclable and 10% can be sent to secure landfill sites.

Dr. Ismail said if space is available in a household for a composting facility, it would help reduce the load on landfill sites.

“Reducing food waste is an important step. Even if families are ordering from outside, they should desist from ordering in excess,” he added.

‘Come together’

Mr. Natarajan said solid waste management would work only when both sides — residents and government agencies — come together. “Local bodies must ensure that compost yards are revived and wet waste is segregated and collected from residents, because not everyone has space for composting. There should be composting facilities at the ward level,” he said.

Over the years, there have been several efforts to implement “source segregation”, an oft-cited phrase that never took off. Instead of inculcating the habit of segregating waste at home, successive governments have only encouraged mixed garbage disposal, said an industry expert.

“Why do they keep bins if they want to encourage source segregation? Residents must be made to realise the dangers of not segregating waste. Conservancy workers too need to be encouraged to ensure segregation. Mere banning of single-use plastics will not do,” he explained.

A former official of the Greater Chennai Corporation, who has managed solid waste, said that unless a proper mechanism is implemented to collect segregated waste door to door, garbage would keep piling.

It remains to be seen when source segregation will really take off in the city.

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