The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) announced on Monday, January 23, that a fine of Rs 100 would be levied on people who do not dispose of sanitary napkins and diapers in separately packed wrapping. N Mahesan, the chief engineer for solid waste management said that people have not been disposing of their sanitary waste properly and this could cause serious health hazards. He added that GCC workers are also finding it difficult to segregate the waste in resource recovery centres and send it for incineration.
Mahesan also said that the GCC will undertake awareness drives on segregating sanitary waste. To make it easier for people to dispose of their sanitary waste, a separate bin will be added to GCC’s battery operated vehicle that collects waste, Mahesan said. According to Times of India, GCC also plans to add more incineration plants in the city’s dump yards to process the waste.
In 2020, the GCC announced that residents would have to pay a fee along with their property taxes towards the clearance of solid waste from their household. The fee is collected based on the type of establishment residents live in and the output garbage for a designated period. For residential buildings, the charges are monthly and range from Rs 10 to Rs100 based on the built up area of construction. For commercial buildings like restaurants, hotels, and wedding halls, the charges are based on the quantity of garbage collected. For wedding halls and community centres, the charges range from Rs 1000 to Rs 15000 a month while for restaurants and hotels, the charges are from Rs 300 to Rs 5000 per month, based on the average garbage generated per day.