MADURAI: The Madurai corporation has launched a ‘Waste to Wealth’ initiative to improve source segregation and ensure scientific handling of household waste, with the civic body commencing door-to-door collection of four categories of waste.
The initiative was launched at Jeyhindupuram in Ward 80 on Tuesday by Mayor-in-charge T Nagarajan and Corporation Commissioner Gaurav Kumar. Under the new system, residents are required to segregate waste into wet, dry, sanitary and special-care waste before handing it over to collection workers.
As part of the pilot initiative, colour-coded bins have been distributed to around 3,500 households in Jeyhindupuram. Green bins are meant for wet waste, blue for dry waste, red for sanitary waste and black for special-care waste. Kitchen and vegetable waste will be treated as wet waste, while paper and cardboard will come under dry waste.
Used diapers and sanitary napkins will be collected as sanitary waste, and discarded paint and pesticide containers as special-care waste.
Commissioner Gaurav Kumar said the initiative is aimed at making segregation at source a regular practice among residents and reducing the quantity of mixed waste reaching disposal facilities.
“The objective is to ensure that waste is segregated at the point of generation itself. Proper segregation will enable recyclable and recoverable materials to be channelled for processing and help reduce the burden on dumping yards. We want residents to become active participants in waste management,” he said.
The corporation has also introduced a monitoring mechanism using QR codes. With technical support from Sethu Institute of Technology, QR codes are being affixed to households to record their segregation practices.
Households consistently handing over properly segregated waste will be awarded scores and the best performers will receive appreciation certificates and prizes at the end of every Civic activist Mahendra Varman welcomed the initiative but said the corporation should ensure its effective implementation across all 100 wards.
“Madurai has been performing poorly in source segregation for several years. This is a welcome initiative, but it should not remain confined to a few wards. The corporation must implement it uniformly across all 100 wards and ensure that segregated waste is not mixed during collection or transportation,” he said.