CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has asked residents to keep firecracker waste separate from other household garbage during Deepavali, noting that special arrangements are in place for its collection and safe disposal across the city.

The Solid Waste Management Department has taken necessary steps, said GCC commissioner GS Sameeran, urging the public to collect firecracker waste from their homes and residential areas separately and hand it over to GCC conservancy workers visiting their localities.

The civic body has distributed 30,000 specially designated bags, each with a 50 kg capacity, to cleanliness workers, who will use them to collect the waste from the public. The civic body has deployed 600 personnel and 350 vehicles for the exercise.

The residential complexes classified as bulk waste generators (BWGs) have been asked to collect all such waste within their premises at a designated spot, without mixing it with other waste, and hand it over to cleanliness workers.