After informing all 1,200 shops and commercial establishments to
segregate their waste, especially plastic and dry waste, so that it can
be collected and recycled, the Udhagamandalam Municipality (UMC) began
collecting the waste from shops and store owners from Wednesday.

According
to UMC Commissioner (in-charge), V. Prabhakaran, the response from
shopkeepers has been astonishing, with more than 1.5 tonnes of dry waste
being collected on Wednesday, which was then taken to the Dry Resource
Collection Centre (DRCC) in Khandal and recycled.

The
Udhagamandalam Municipality had ordered that all shops and commercial
establishments in Ooty Town segregate their plastic waste and leave them
outside their stores so that the municipality can collect them at
source on a weekly basis.

The Municipality Commissioner, along
with sanitary inspectors conducted awareness programmes for the shops
along the Commercial Road, Garden Road and other areas in Ooty Town
since last week to get their message across.

According
to sanitary inspectors, V Srinivasan and M Maharaja, more than 1,200
shops from the town have been asked to segregate plastic waste and leave
them outside their stores for the municipality to collect. UMC vehicles
will collect the waste every week and take it to the DRCC in Khandal.

The
DRCC was unveiled by the District Collector, P Sankar in January of
this year. The centre hosts a plastic shredding machine, where collected
plastic is shredded and used to make roads. The CSR initiative, which
is being undertaken by ITC, is called “Well Being Out of Waste.”

V
Prabhakaran, the municipality commissioner, has directed all shops and
stores to not discard their waste inappropriately and called on all
business owners to cooperate to ensure that the UMC’s stated “Zero-waste
policy” goals are achieved.