A small yet innovative initiative by the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Government of Tamil Nadu, can go a long way in the fight against the menace called global warming.
The Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Government of Tamil Nadu, is successfully experimenting with a novel project which aims at preventing plastic waste from getting into compost yards, most of them located near water bodies, reports The Hindu, a prominent news daily. As part of the project, plastic waste such as cups, polythene bags etc. generated from 10 municipalities in the Kancheepuram district of the State are collected, stored and then sold through auction to those who could use them for industrial purposes.
According to the paper, the project was launched in October 2010 across the 10 municipalities of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tambaram, Pallavaram, Pammal, Anakaputhur, Alandur, Ullagaram-Puzhuthivakkam, Madurantakam and Maraimalai Nagar.
To make the whole process safe, segregation and collection (of plastic waste) is done at all three levels – primary, secondary and tertiary, that is, at source, collection centres and compost yards, before being collected and brought to the storage centre in Maraimalai Nagar.
In March, the Dept. sold 25 tonnes of plastic waste through auction at Rs.2,500 per tonne.
And though the initiative is small it already has had a huge impact. “The gains of preventing plastic waste from getting into compost yards, most of them located near water bodies, were huge,” the news daily quoted the officials as saying.
Imagine the hazards the tons of these plastic waste would have caused to our environment in absence of a proper recycling plan.
Lessons from the story:
- Recycling can help save energy and resources.
- Conserving resources and energy reduces emissions and even help slowdown global warming.
Kudos to the efforts of the Department of Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Government of Tamil Nadu.
What is global warming?
According to About.com, global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans.
The hazards of the plastics:
The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The “Throw away culture: results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting blockage causes inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases. · This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering a already low water levels in our cities. · The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure remain in the soil for years. · It has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes d Plastic goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. Fish and other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as food items swallow them and die. |
Source: The A.P. Pollution Control Board
(In Image: PLASTIC WASTE RECYCLING Unit at Thudialur Town Panchayat in Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu)
(Image source: www.tn.gov.in)
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