A nation-wide Meri LiFE Mera Swachh Shchar Campaign is under way, which encourages cities to establish Reduce Reuse Recycle Centres and inculcate the practices of RRR in citizens and cities. The campaign, which began on May 15 and will end on June 5 coinciding with World Environment Day, is being followed by the Greater Chennai Corporation as well.
The civic body is using 67 resource recovery centres and 71 material recovery facilities in the campaign. Materials such as used books, clothes, footwear, and plastics are accepted and will be handed over to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on June 5.
As of June 3, the Corporation had collected 9,685 kg of used plastic items, 4,118 kg of books, 41,286 kg of used clothes and 13,099 pairs of footwear. They are collected either through private conservancy companies like Urbaser Sumeet, who conduct door-to-door collection or directly through residents who drop the items at the centres.
“This is the perfect opportunity to convert waste into wealth and involve public participation in the campaign”, Chief Engineer-Solid Waste Management N. Mahesan said. Several NGOs are participating in this campaign and form the next step after material collection.
Jeetendra Bhandari, managing trustee, Rajasthan Cosmo Club Foundation, said by participating in the campaign and accepting the GCC’s collection of clothes, it was possible to reuse clothes instead of burning or discarding them. “Our organisation has the bandwidth to process these clothes and deliver them to the less-privileged sections of society,” he added.
The NGO collects, mends, washes, packs, sorts and sell the clothes at minimal prices in five ‘Smile Stores’ across the city offering dignity to the buyer and a complete shopping experience.
