Soon, Tamil to be an option on Madras Waste Exchange Platform website

The move follows the registration of more than 1,000 persons as buyers and 300 residents as sellers of recyclable waste. “Steps to add Tamil language to the portal has already started. The users will soon be able to change their language setting,” a Chennai Corporation source said.

The civic officials expect that the move to include Tamil would attract a large section of the more than 4,000 scrap dealers in the city to register in the platform. “Bulk buyers are hesitating to buy recyclable materials from the residents who having only a small quantity to sell. If local scrap dealers are included in the platform, they would buy materials from houses, irrespective of the quantity,” the source added.

Under the Smart City Mission, the civic body had launched the Madras Waste Exchange Platform to reduce the amount of garbage being dumped at the landfills. All the composting centres and material recovery centres maintained by the Corporation are listed in the platform from where the waste recyclers and residents could buy usable materials and organic manure.

Also, residents who have old newspaper and other recyclable waste in their houses can register in the platform and dispose of unwanted materials.

According to Chennai Corporation data, the civic body had sold more than 700 tonnes of recyclable and reusable waste through the platform and earned around Rs three lakh till February.

In order to keep the platform dynamic by updating the web portal periodically, the civic body also has decided to appoint an IT firm to maintain the website.