K. Padma, a resident of Panthalkudi, flings a bucket of unsegregated garbage into the bin on the streetside. “Ten months back, we all took efforts to segregate waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. But, nowadays, we don’t practice it and the conservancy workers also don’t insist on it,” she says.
Two years back, the Corporation launched an initiative of door-to-door collection of non-biodegradable waste on every Wednesday. However, this system is in a shambles now.
M. Muthiah, a resident of Chinna Chokkikulam, says he is not aware of waste segregation concept. “I get confused about what is biodegradable and non- biodegradable waste. So I just dump all my household waste together,” he says.
Residents of several wards also point out that door-to-door collection of waste is inconsistent. “The conservancy workers come only once in three days to clear garbage from bins. Sometimes, even the workers cannot clearly distinguish between biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste,” says V. Jaya from Iyer Bungalow.
Corporation’s health officials say the conservancy workers have sold 83.05 tonnes of recyclable plastic to vendors and have realised ₹ 2.79 lakh in the last one week. “This move, along with incentivising the conservancy workers, will make sure that only biodegradable waste is carried to the Vellaikkal dump yard,” says an health official.
However, there is an increasing amount of plastic waste at the landfill in Vellaikkal, says an official from the Corporation. “If there is proper segregation of waste at source, then why are the tipper lorries dumping plastic bottles, thermocol sheets and glass bottles at the dumpyard?” asks the official.
N. Rajadarshini of Enlight Trust says there is a need for a behavioural change among residents. “In some areas, the Corporation has distributed green and blue bins for segregating waste. But many residents do not utilise them properly. To make an impact in their mindset regarding segregation, we are educating the school students about the importance of waste segregation,” she says.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan says it is a shared responsibility and urges residents to take steps to make Madurai a binless city. More battery-operated vehicles will be deployed in the next 20 days and after that strict action will be taken against the offenders, he says.