28 women councillors on field trip to Telangana to study waste mgmt practices

Trichy: Trichy corporation has sent 28 women councillors including the deputy mayor to study the better solid waste management practices being implemented in Siddipet, a municipality in Telangana, as a part of the NAMA-WSCE project promoting circular solid waste management solutions. The three-day trip between June 12 and 14 aims at exposing the councillors to study the innovative working models in menstrual hygiene, solid waste and plastic waste management for emulating the same in their respective wards.Officials said that Siddipet municipality promotes source segregation and home composting to reduce the solid waste to be disposed of every day. Degradable waste is being converted as manure through home composting practices in houses, thereby reducing the burden on the local body to collect and process the waste. “The town in Telangana has a bio-CNG plant to produce compressed natural gas which is supplied to restaurants as a cooking fuel and used to power the local body’s garbage collection vehicles. The councillors will gain information on their working model, and we can emulate the same with modifications if any are required,” a senior official said. Siddipet municipality also operates a cutlery bank, a facility in each ward to sell reusable utensils which would prevent the residents from opting for plastic products. The town also educates the children about waste management and promotes the usage of cloth diapers and menstrual cups to reduce plastic waste generation.“The waste collection mechanism and segregation of waste for scientific recycling will be studied by the councillors. Trichy has a decentralised waste management infrastructure, lesser-known best practices identified through the field visit will help the city to further improve solid waste management practice here,” the official added.