GCC Sets Sept. 1 Deadline for Bulk Waste Generators in Chennai

The Greater Chennai Corporation has mandated that all bulk waste generators across Chennai must segregate their waste at source starting September 1, with civic officials instructed to impose penalties on non-compliant establishments.

GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran announced the directive during a review meeting on solid waste management works held at Ripon Buildings on Saturday. He instructed officials to intensify enforcement measures and accelerate public awareness campaigns across the city.

Under the civic body's guidelines, bulk waste generators are required to segregate biodegradable, non-biodegradable, sanitary, and hazardous waste at the point of generation and hand them over separately. Waste bins must be maintained within the premises of these establishments. Dedicated officials have been assigned to inspect and monitor compliance across commercial entities and large residential complexes.

To encourage wider compliance among households, the Corporation launched door-to-door awareness campaigns in Chennai's southern region on Saturday. Similar outreach drives are scheduled to be rolled out across the central and northern regions in subsequent phases.

During the meeting, Commissioner Sameeran also reviewed ongoing biomining projects at the city's primary dumpyards. The Corporation reported that the first phase of biomining at the Perungudi dumpyard has been completed, resulting in the reclamation of 94 acres of land. Under the second phase at Perungudi, biomining of 5.5 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste is currently under way, with 28,000 metric tonnes processed and removed so far.

At the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, operations are targeting 66 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste. Of this total, 44 lakh metric tonnes have been removed, reclaiming 16 acres of land. Meanwhile, at Athipattu, the first phase cleared one lakh cubic metres of waste, and the second phase is processing 72,000 metric tonnes, with 36,000 metric tonnes removed to date.

Deputy Commissioner Chitra Vijayan and other senior civic officials were present at the review meeting.