CHENNAI: The Pammal Municipality was one of the first around Chennai to pride itself with a ‘zero waste’ tag. But recent developments in its solid waste management practice might spell an end to that streak.
Sources in the municipality claimed that the non-recyclable waste is being dumped locally instead of being sent to factories in Ariyalur because of lack of funds. In addition to resorting to dumping this waste in old dumping yards even as biomining operations are on, residents claimed that the non-recyclable waste is set on fire in street corners.
“The workers pile up the waste in street corners and set it on fire,” said M Kandasamy, a local activist, explaining that residents’ complaints had fallen on deaf ears. Earlier the Municipality had been sending its non-recyclable waste to the Vengadamangalam waste management plant. But with the State government intent on phasing it out, the Pammal Municipality has been instructed to send its waste to tin factories in Ariyalur which use it as fuel.
“Transporting 10 tonnes of waste to Ariyalur every week is expensive so the waste is dumped in existing dumpyards near Pammal,” said the source, explaining it costs almost `15,000 for each trip.