NEWS

Facilities meant to convert solid waste into compost are being used as open dumping sites in the Tiruvottiyur and Manali municipalities. In Manali, a composting project involving self-help group members a few years ago was shelved “because no one came forward to purchase the manufactured compost,” according to councillors.“We had a composting yard and had also distributed green and red bins for source segregation. But after a few days residents started using the bins for storing water. We have now contacted Exnora International to help with creating awareness among the people and restart our composting efforts,” said Mullai R.Gnanasekar, chairman, Manali Municipality. “We do not have sufficient funds or the necessary manpower to implement source segregation and composting. The composting yard is therefore being used as a dump yard,” said R. Jayaraman, chairman, Tiruvottiyur Municipality. On an average, 110 tonnes of garbage is being dumped by the Tiruvottiyur Municipality and 10 tonnes by the Manali Municipality in their respective compost yards. The Department of Municipal Administration is presently creating large-scale facilities to process garbage for municipalities that do not have enough land.