The Hindu 26.08.2016
Waste collection from apartments, gated communities picks up
‘No Dumping’ members collecting waste in a segregated manner from an
apartment at Sowripalayam in Coimbatore.—Photo: M. Periasamy
On Independence Day, the Coimbatore Corporation
recognised the efforts of many a civil society organisations, including
that of ‘No Dumping’ team.
The team, since January
this year, has collected waste in a segregated fashion from gated
communities and apartments, two wards, the Coimbatore airport and
another places – 22, in all – and processed the waste.
Handing
out the award, Corporation Commissioner K. Vijayakarthikeyan said that
team’s effort was commendable and that the civic body planned to expand
the waste collection to 50 wards in the city.
C.
Prasanth of the ‘No Dumping’ team says that in the past seven months,
the team has collected 15,275 kg organic wet waste, 2,64,607 kg
inorganic dry waste and 9,598 kg unhygienic waste like sanitary napkins.
The
team sends the organic waste to bio-gasifier plants, farmers and the
Corporation’s vermin compost plant and segregated and sold recyclable
dry waste to vendors. It sells the non-recyclable dry waste to ACC
Cement company as alternative fuel resource and sent the unhygienic
waste to safe landfill in Vellalore.
He
says that the team makes “some money” by selling the recyclable dry
waste but the money is not enough to sustain the operations. It gets
support from the ACC Cement company that support it as part of its
corporate social responsibility operations.
In the
apartments, though, the team collects segregated waste at their
doorstep. Before starting the operation, the team talked to apartment
associations, brought them on board and then created awareness among
women, the maids and also housekeeping staff.
Resident
B. Sabari Sabthami of Lambodara Orchid Elegance apartments on
Kannabiran Mill Road says that the association has given two bins and a
bag to all the residents, who segregate the waste into organic wet,
inorganic dry and unhygienic waste. Initially, there were hiccups but
now almost all residents are following the practices, she adds.
Now
the team has reached out to colleges as well. On Wednesday, it
kick-started the drive at the CMS College of Science and Commerce.
