Soon, pay extra for garbage collection

The city generates 5,300 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, directed to the two dump yards in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi – both of which have been filled beyond their capacity. The Corporation’s experiments with getting residents to source segregate waste had been largely inconsistent, with only 40 out of the city’s 200 wards (20%) adhering to this practice. 

The Corporation is currently framing by-laws, as mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, to enforce the strategies mentioned in the rules, including the segregation of household waste at source and directing bulk generators – such as large apartment complexes, gated communities, hotels, educational institutions, malls and government organisations – to segregate and manage the waste they generate within the premises. 

The rules also mandate the local body “to frame bye-laws incorporating the provisions of these rules.”

Empowered by the clause in Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 that mandate local bodies “to frame by-laws incorporating the provisions of these rules”, the Corporation has framed the Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) by-laws of Corporation of Chennai Act 1919. 

Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan said, “The bylaws are being framed and we are working out the user cost, which will be collected along with property tax. This will not only improve source segregation but also other aspects of solid waste management in the city.” 

‘User cost’ involves the levying of a monthly charge by the Corporation for the service of door-to-door waste collection. “Basically, a user fee is charged for the service of picking up the garbage. Now, the Corporation pays for solid waste management through the tax collected. In the future, the user fee collected will go towards this directly,” said Dharmesh Shah, a city-based waste policy expert. 

He added that just levying a user fee would not encourage source segregation. “There should be a penalty clause in the bylaw, which could either be monetary or empowering the conservancy worker to refuse picking up unsegregated waste – the latter is more effective. While the SWM Rules 2016 empower the urban-local bodies to enforce a fine, many don’t do it, since it is a politically contentious move,” pointed out Dharmesh. 

The Corporation commissioner also confirmed that there will not be a penalty clause in the by-laws.