TIRUCHY: Expressing disappointment over “the lack of transparency” in the corporation’s initiatives like the Wall of Happiness that encourage donation of used clothes, city residents stress the need for making public records of particulars like the quantity collected, etc.
When the matter was raised in December 2023 by a councillor, who particularly sought for details under the civic body’s 'Refuse Recycle Reuse (RRR)', a senior official informed that roughly 900 kg of clothes were collected till November 2023 from the bins placed at various micro-compost centres in the city under the initiative.
Further it was revealed that clothes collected through the initiative will be recycled into cloth bags and given away free of cost to traders. Prema A, a resident of Puthur, however, stressed the need for more information. “We neither know how many bags were made from the clothes collected under RRR scheme nor how many such recycled items have been distributed so far. They must be made public.
Otherwise, we cannot comment anything about the initiative’s significance. Further the lack of transparency in RRR and Wall of Happiness would result in malpractice. In the current scenario, how would residents know whether the clothes given for recycling reach the recycler?
Similarly, how would we know that clothes reaching the Wall of Happiness are not getting sold to traders and others? The corporation must hence regularly publish the details of the quantity of clothes collected under RRR and the Wall of Happiness.”
On the Wall of Happiness, which is a shelf installed near the K Abishekapuram zonal office for donating clothes for the needy, K Ravichandran, a senior citizen in Ponmalai, said, “It is an impressive initiative but the corporation should share the quantity of clothes collected under it every month.
If the civic body gave away some of it for recycling, that should also be made public. The absence of such a system keeps residents in the dark on the success or failure of a scheme. All we know right now is that the Wall of Happiness would have clothes for the needy anytime.” A section of residents have also suggested a stall for residents to dispose of clothes as well as procure cloth bags from.
"There should be an option for residents to get cloth bags for free if they hand over a certain quantity of old clothes. Such a system is better than the free distribution of cloth bags to traders," said Pushpalatha L of Anna Nagar. When enquired, senior corporation officials assured to consider the matter and added that efforts will be taken to improve the existing initiatives.