211.08 metric tonnes of firecracker waste collected in Chennai: GCC

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) collected 211.08 metric tonnes (MT) of firecracker waste in the past three days. Sanitation workers collected the waste separately and sent it to Gummudipoondi.

"On October 23, 7.92 MT firecracker waste was generated. On Deepavali, the civic body collected 63.76 MT. On Tuesday, around 139.40 MT of waste was collected, a total of 211.08 MT of cracker waste was generated in the city in three days. The civic body authorities arranged 30 separate vehicles, two vehicles per zone, to collect waste collection for Deepavali," stated an official press release.

Steps have been taken to transport the hazardous waste to a processing plant for regularisation. In the first phase, at least 50 MT of firecracker waste has been safely transported to the hazardous waste treatment plant at Gummudipoondi. The dispatch of the remaining fireworks waste is under way.

The waste has increased in the city compared to previous years, where 138 MT was generated in 2021. And in 2019, the local body sanitation workers collected over 82 metric tonnes of waste across the city.

Recently, during a meeting for Deepavali, the senior officials instructed the sanitary workers to collect the firecracker waste separately and dispose the same in a safe manner. On an average, at least 5,200 MT of solid waste is collected per day from Chennai.