Kumbakonam Corporation’s ‘waste into wealth’ project earns kudos

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Sanitation workers weaving baskets from discarded packing tape in the solid waste upcycling project initiated by the Kumbakonam Corporation. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kumbakonam Corporation has decided to tackle the solid waste generated in its 48 wards by training its sanitation workers to upcycle discarded materials into handicrafts and utility objects.

In the last one month since its implementation, under the direction of Corporation Commissioner K. M. Sudha, the initiative has earned praise from Kumbakonam residents for the innovative recycling of garbage aided by more dedicated policy to segregate waste at source.

“Earlier, we used to receive solid waste in a jumbled mixture, which could only be sent to the rubbish tip. Working on a zero waste concept, the Sanitation Officers and Inspectors at the Corporation’s Health department formed a committee for an Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign to spread awareness about segregation. We began to get waste segregated at source for three months. From this, we decided to streamline the items that could be repurposed,” sanitation inspector K. Manimaran told The Hindu .

A total of 402 sanitation workers are participating in various aspects of the project.

Most of them are engaged in door-to-door waste collection, segregation and transporting of the collected waste to the designated locations in Kumbakonam.

Thirteen workers are voluntarily involved in the creation of value-added products, in addition to their cleaning and segregation duties.

“At first, the workers were wary of participating in the project because they did not have the skills. However, we were able to train them through online videos and special classes to become artisans over the weeks. It is impressive to see sanitation staff turning out handicrafts with ease,” said Mr. Manimaran.

The temple town generates 300-500 kg of floral garlands and offerings discarded every day. These are dried, powdered and mixed with proportionate amounts of camphor and cowdung to make incense cones.

The workers have been trained to make eco-friendly planter pots from the compressed fibrous husks of coconuts and palmyra fruits.

Plastic packing tape, which was a huge problem for the waste collectors, is now an important raw material for baskets that workers have learned to weave.

Wood shavings and plastic waste are being repurposed as fuel alternatives for industrial units.

“Since Kumbakonam has a significant number of temples and shrines, devotees often leave behind their clothes after their holy bath. The garments are first disinfected, sun-dried and then processed into thick fabric strands to make doormats,” the official said.