Hand over waste in bio-bags, traders told

Meetings to be held with traders at zone level

ORDERLY DISPOSAL:The Coimbatore Corporation wants traders to store waste, especially generated in meat stalls, in bio-degradable bags and then handed over to the conservancy workers of the civic body. - PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

COIMBATORE: Following up on the clean city drive, specifically for the World Classical Tamil Conference, the Corporation plans to rid the commercial areas in the city and places where shops are located in residential colonies of garbage.

The civic body has made a fresh appeal to traders to store waste only in bio-bags (biodegradable bags) and not dump it along roads, into the drainage or in open spaces such as reserved sites.

“We spoke to the traders on Thursday on the need to use the bio-bags. They were asked to store the waste in these bags and hand these over to the Corporation’s conservancy workers,” Mayor R. Venkatachalam said.

Apart from the usual garbage removal at 6 a.m. across the city, another shift at 9 a.m. would be introduced specially for the traders.

New shift

The Mayor said the shops, especially the ones that sold fish and meat, would not have much waste as early as 6 a.m. Therefore, the new shift would be introduced.

“Unless we put in place a disposal system that meets their needs, the traders also may find it difficult to adhere to the Corporation’s orders. At the same time, the traders will have to go by the system once it is in place,” the Mayor said.

“In order to spread the message wider, we plan to hold meetings with traders at the zone level, involving the Mayor, Corporation Commissioner, Deputy Mayor, Health Committee Chairman and other officials, he said.

From THE HINDU

‘City Clean Campaign’ in July

To remove plastic waste within Nellai Corporation limits

TIRUNELVELI: Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, which has identified 124 places under its jurisdiction where ‘waste plastic mounds’ have been created by its residents, has decided to involve its entire workforce along with volunteers drawn from schools and colleges in its ‘City Clean Campaign’ to remove this highly hazardous materials to be destroyed safely.

Laid waste:Plastic waste dumped in the irrigation channel taking water to Nainarkulam near Lala Chatra corner in Tirunelveli town. Photo: A_Shaikmohideen

After the district administration and the Department of Environment decided to impose a ban on the production, sale and use of non-recyclable non-degradable plastic materials, particularly, plastic bags, serious steps were initiated to clean up the already piled up plastic wastes by involving India Cements Limited (ICL) in this noble exercise.

As per the memorandum of understanding signed with ICL, the urban local bodies of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Nagercoil should collect the plastic wastes being generated in their respective areas and send it in the lorries to the premises of cement manufacturing unit, where the hazardous non-degradable materials would be finely shredded to be used as supplement fuel along with the regular fuel, coal.

Modifications

Subsequently, the ICL management spent over Rs. 1 crore for making some modifications in the machineries and installed equipment to make this process effective.

Even as this exercise is going on, the corporation has planned to put an end to the creation of plastic heaps under its jurisdiction while cleaning the existing stacks of plastics.

As per this new initiative, the plastic waste dumped at 124 places in various places under the Corporation will be removed during the ‘City Clean Campaign’ to be jointly organised by its 700-odd conservancy workers and over 1,800 students and volunteers drawn from various schools, colleges and also from the residents’ welfare associations.

“This camp will be conducted in the first week of July on a particular day simultaneously across the corporation to clean the plastic hillocks. After the conduct of this campaign, we’ll initiate very stern action against those who produce, sell and use the non-degradable plastic products as production, sale and use of these hazardous materials within corporation limits have been banned. Residents should hand over plastic waste only to the conservancy workers hereafter,” said Commissioner N. Subbaian.

From THE HINDU

Erode: Dumping of waste in irrigation channels goes unchecked

Farmers blame district authorities for inaction

ERODE: The dumping of solid waste, including huge amount of plastic waste, in the irrigation channels and sewers in the district remains unchecked for long.

Foul odour:The dumping of solid waste, including huge amount of plastic waste in water carrying channels remains unchecked in many parts of Erode. — Photo: M. Govarthan

A large number of commercial establishments particularly eateries and a few irresponsible citizens dump solid waste in almost all the sewers in the town. In the recent rains, almost all the open sewers in Erode town overflowed and flooded residential areas.

Apart from sewers running in the town, solid waste is being dumped in large quantity in the irrigation channels, thus killing them slowly.

“A large number of farmers depend on these channels to irrigate their fields. They have taken this issue to the notice of senior officials on several occasions. But they are yet to witness a positive response from the officials,” people say.

Farmers had even represented this issue during their monthly grievances redressal meeting.

“But our grievance is yet to be redressed,” farmers lament.

A number of irrigation channels passing through the town have now become big sewers emanating foul odour and a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The district authorities and the Erode Corporation continue to turn a blind eye over this issue.

“Each time we approached the officials in the district administration and the Corporation, they give us assurance that they would initiate appropriate action. But no concrete action has been taken up so far to put an end to the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste into the water carrying channels and sewers,” people charge.

From THE HINDU

New process to treat organic waste in effluents

Anna varsity to soon join hands with firms for commercialising the project

In a bid to reduce water pollution caused by industrial effluents, the Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, has developed a special consortium of microbes that could be used to treat organic waste even in effluent with high salinity level.

The Centre’s director A. Navaneetha Gopalakrishnan said the Centre, which had recently patented the process, would soon join hands with firms to commercialise the project.

At present, several industries release raw effluent into waterways, including the Cooum river, as the microbes now used in the treatment process cannot digest organic waste owing to high total dissolved solids (TDS) level.

The new process was tested in waste water, which has TDS level ranging between 50,000 and 65,000 mg per litre. The microbes used in aeration process helped in treating the organic waste, he said. N. Vasudevan, professor at the Centre for Environmental Studies, said the process would be more efficient than that used in sewage treatment plants for organic waste removal. It is economical than the energy intensive treatment process used in industries.

Moreover, the salt content in the waste water could be recovered through evaporation for use as raw material in alkaline industries. Chlorine gas, which is used as disinfectant in water treatment, could also be generated, he said.

K. Lakshmi – From The Hindu

Madurai: Despite a ban

HAZARDOUS:Plastic waste found strewn all over the Tamil Nadu Housing Board quarters at Maharajanagar in Palayamkottai. — Photo: A. Shaikmohideen

From THE HINDU