Chennaiites have increased per capita waste generation by 170 grams
Chennai city is still littered with garbage and assorted waste as seen in this representative image. - DC
CHENNAI: At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been stressing on cleanliness through his Swachh Bharat campaign, statistics reveal that Chennaiites have started generating more garbage over the past decade, increasing the per capita waste generation by 170 grams. According to information obtained through RTI from Chennai corporation, per capita waste generation per day (waste produced by an individual) has increased from 530 grams in 2000 to 700 grams according to the recent census population in 2011. What this means is that a family of four members generates up to 20.4 kg more than they used to do in the past.
According to the city corporation, over the past 14 years, the city’s garbage collection per day has almost doubled from 2,616 tonnes in 2000 to 4,921 tonnes in 2014 though there is no drastic increase in population. The population, according to the 2001 census, was 56.64 lakh which went up to 61.5 lakh according to the 2011 census; now the estimated population of Chennai is around 69 lakh.
The city grew in size from 174 sq km to 426 sq km annexing the neighbouring municipalities and town panchayats in 2010. Yet, the increase in population from 2000 to 2014 is just 12.5 lakh. Contrary to popular belief that industries and commercial units generate more garbage, data obtained from the corporation reveals that residential waste contributes 68 per cent of garbage followed by commercial (16 per cent), schools and institutions (14 per cent) and industrial waste (2 per cent).
Corporation officials claim that the figures only show an increase in consumption by Chennaiites. “People have started consuming more. Once papers and leaves were used to wrap eatables, but now plastic is the option for packing any content,” said a senior corporation official.“The city is now witnessing a steep increase in floating population which could also be the reason behind the increase in waste generation,” said Mr M.B. Nirmal, founder of Exnora International. “Composting can be done to address this issue. If the corporation finds it difficult to find space to instal composting facilities, the process can be done on parks under the ground, or on the terraces of corporation buildings,” he suggested.
With such an alarming rise in garbage production, the corporation is planning a mega awareness drive on source segregation. With the two dumpyards of Chennai – Perungudi and Kodungaiyur - moving towards the end of their lifetime, the corporation has also started to look for alternative methods like biomethanation and vermicomposting.
A biomethanation plant has been set up at Pulianthope garbage transfer centre while vermicomposting is being carried out at ward 173.
“Biomethanation is the best scientific method to address the issue,” said Mr J. Daniel Chellappa, senior scientist, BARC. “Biomethanation will help in addressing garbage issues in the longer run and besides reducing transportation charges, the method will also bring down landfills,” he added.Mr S. Murugan, zonal chairman of Adyar, said about 500 kg offertiliser has been produced from the garbage collected in ward 173 through vermicomposting.
Next Story
