CHENNAI: Country’s first online waste exchange platform – Madras Waste Exchange, launched in the city recently, will be available in Tamil in three months. “Since December 13, more than 650 buyers and about 420 sellers have registered in www.madraswasteexchange.com. We have observed that the market we are catering to mostly constitutes of Tamil speaking community and the online platform will serve its purpose only if there is no language barrier. Lot of sellers are not fluent in English. So, apart from English, there will also be a Tamil version, within three months,” said Azhagu Pandia Raja, research fellow, India Smart Cities.
That is also thought to be the reason why, despite a large number of registrations, only one to two transactions are happening per day. Officials from Greater Chennai Corporation say this move will help boost the sales. The city generates more than 5,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste in the 15 zones, covering 426 sq. km. Madras Waste Exchange connects buyers and sellers of different kinds of waste, and enable circular economy in waste management.
Further within a couple of months, the mobile application and website will have several new features.
“One of the most important issues is that the buyer may want to purchase the waste in bulk, like about 100 kg and small shops might only have about 25 kg with them. So, we are introducing route optimisation which will show you how you can get the quantity you want from different shops nearby,” explained Azhagu.
Other features include an online chat box to enable conversation between the buyer and seller, which will also prove effective after the launch of Tamil version.“Educational institutions have a lot of paper waste, which can be sold. Similarly, they can also sell old furniture. We are expecting more schools to join in future and are calling out for apartment complexes to register, as that is where the major issue of source segregation lies,” said a city corporation official.Talks are also on between Chennai Corporation and Municipal Administration department to scale up the project across Tamil Nadu.