Garbage bins may soon become a thing of the past

The Tiruchi City Corporation, which figured in the top 10 cleanest cities in the country for the third consecutive year in 2017, has embarked upon an ambitious initiative to make the city free of garbage bins.

The Corporation plans to phase out existing garbage bins in all 65 wards of the city within two years. The Gandhi Market, Chathram Bus Stand, Central Bus Stand and other retail vegetable and fish markets, which account for 15 to 20% of garbage generated in the city, will also have no garbage bins if the initiative goes on the right track.

On an average, the city generates 450 metric tonnes of solid waste a day. The Corporation has 280 pushcarts, 352 steel containers, 756 compacter bins, 2460 barrels and 200 twin bin stands. The bins have been placed on street corners, thickly populated residential localities, commercial centres, vegetable markets and bus stands for residents and traders to dump the garbage. There are 140 mini tipper vans, 140 light commercial vehicles, 22 tipper lorries and 3 tractors with trailers. These are used for collecting and transporting the solid waste from the garbage bins to Ariyamangalam dump yard and micro compost yards.

Making it mandatory for the consumers to hand over domestic waste directly to pushcarts or light commercial vehicles, banning dumping of waste in bins, implementing spot fine system for those violating rules and regulations, increasing garbage collection vehicles and filling up manpower requirements are among the slew of measures on the pipeline towards making the city free of garbage bins.

“We have already set the ball rolling on garbage bin-free city initiative. It is definitely achievable. No more bins will be placed hereafter. Instead, we will make the city residents hand over domestic and commercial waste directly to garbage collectors,” N. Ravichandran, Special Officer cum Commissioner, Tiruchi Corporation, told The Hindu.

He added that garbage would be collected from the houses and commercial houses directly and shifted to the solid waste management centres for processing. Sufficient number of pushcarts would be purchased so as to operate in narrow streets, where heavy vehicles could not access. Residents would be sensitised by segregating bio degradable and non-degradable waste in the house itself. It had already been made compulsory. The Corporation had provisions to levy penalties on residents and commercial establishment that failed to comply.

Mr. Ravichandran said out of 450 metric tonne of garbage being collected daily in the city, 130 metric tonne of waste were processed at 15 micro compost yards.

Similarly, 150 metric tonnes were processed by a company at Ariyamangalam dump yard. Steps were explored to process the remaining waste by setting up more micro compost yards. The micro-level solid waste management system would pave way for doing away with the need for garbage bins in the city.

source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/garbage-bins-may-soon-become-a-thing-of-the-past/article20746416.ece