82 tonnes of firecracker waste collected by Corporation in 3 days

According to the solid waste management department officials of the corporation, 82.32 tonnes of cracker waste were collected from the 15 zones of the civic body in the last three days.

As per the data from the Corporation, the sanitary workers had collected around 95 tonnes of cracker waste after last year’s Deepavali, while the quantum of plastic waste collected was 85 tonnes in 2018.

While the rest of the city celebrated Deepavali with their families, nearly 20,000 conservancy workers employed by the Corporation spent their festival collecting firecracker waste and urging residents not to dispose it of along with their domestic waste.

In a release, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said 19,585 conservancy workers collected and stored the cracker waste separately to send them to the hazardous waste processing unit run by Tamil Nadu Waste Management Limited atGummidipoondi.

The conservancy workers have been urging residents not to dispose of the firework trash along with their domestic waste. “Firecracker waste contains heavy metal toxins, which can reduce soil fertility, and also seep into the groundwater and affect health of residents,” said a senior official in the Solid Waste Management department.

Among the zones of the Corporation, Adyar has recorded highest collection of cracker waste of 10.322 tonnes, followed by Royapuram with 10.05 tonnes and Valasaravakkam with 7.52 tonnes. The lowest being Tiruvottiyur with 2.37 MT.