Clean sweep by Chennai residents

Over 1,000 Chennaiites took to the streets on Sundays, equipped with gloves, masks, brooms and garbage bags. Their goal was to bring the city back to normalcy as soon as possible. They were seen in Kotturpuram, Kilpauk, Alwarpet and along the beaches where they collected all types of waste, except organic waste. Deepa Bharatkumar, an architect, who was part of the drive says, “We did our best and cleaned up areas like Alwarpet, Kilpauk and many others, while the Corporation officials concentrated on areas that were worst-hit.” 

Not many are aware of e-waste disposal. An e-waste expert, who was working with the team says, “We found a lot of chargers, mobile phones, transistors and many other electronics, which could not be repaired. Generally, most of this goes into the landfills, which is later burnt. Burning e-waste leads to air and water pollution as the mercury released finds its way into our food and bodies. E-waste needs to be sent to recyclers who know how to segregate these components in an eco-friendly, approved manner.”

As many as 10,000 clean up initiatives will be organised over the next six months, to deal with the city’s garbage woes.

Mathew Jose of Paperman, who is spearheading this initiative, says Chennaiites are eager to do their bit for the city. “For a successful clean-up, you need volunteers, equipment, funds and the know-how of ways to do it effectively. We have created a portal, where volunteers can sign up and we will be conducting 10,000 clean-ups over the next few months. We are working in tandem with the Corporation as well as other NGOs as effective waste management is a large issue and needs to be tackled in a collaborative manner. We are also building a platform, where we put out all the information with regard to clean-up and disposal of waste effectively. This will also inspire more people to join and clean up our city,” says Mathew.