CHENNAI: As many as 40.5 tonnes of mixed waste was collected from the sands of the Marina and Elliot’s Beach during the Pongal weekend, according to Chennai corporation.
Plastic and thermocol waste were the main components posing questions over the corporation’s enforcement drive against the pollutants.
The clean up on Marina conducted by Shuddha.org, an NGO, netted among other waste 1,700 kg of plastic cups, 570 kg of plastic covers less than 40 micron (which is banned), 256 kg of plastic bottles and 40 kg of plastic and paper plates.
“There was a huge amount of thermocol waste mostly bowl shaped plates used by fast food outlets to serve 'pani puri’.
There is no recycling plant for thermocol in the city. Unfortunately, we could not measure the quantum of thermocol waste and now it will all go to the landfills,” said Nisha Thotta, general secretary, Shuddha.
Elliot’s Beach contributed 11 tonnes of net waste from the holiday weekend.
However, the total waste have gone down in the last three years, according to Thotta. “In 2013, there was 59 tonnes which came down to 46 tonnes in 2014. Last year, it was 40 tonnes,” she added.
The fact that plastic less than 40 microns was freely available and the amount of plastic strewn on the coast are evidence that the local body and the Pollution Control Board have failed in enforcement.
“The Pongal preparations were predominantly about how to crack down on the sale of expired food items,” remarked an official, lending support to the argument that the corporation has not pushed through with enforcement of plastic ban.
