Tiruvannamalai Corporation to donate non-biodegradable waste for road-laying works

As part of its green initiative, Tiruvannamalai Corporation is all set to donate its accumulated 250 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste, mostly plastic waste like PET bottles, from Monday onwards to use for road laying works.

Officials of Tiruvannamalai Corporation, who have spearheaded the initiative, said that a Coimbatore-based Startup has signed an MoU with the Corporation to collect untreated non-biodegradable wastes from Micro Compost Centres (MCC) of the civic body free of cost.

Donated plastic waste by the corporation will be used by the startup for road-laying works in the Coimbatore region. “The first shipment of plastic waste will be given to the startup on Monday. Thereafter, the private firm will take the collected plastic waste from MCCs at least once a week on its own. It helps us to make the town much cleaner as the total volume of waste to landfill will be minimal,” S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu.

As per the plan, accumulated plastic waste at MCCs, which are located at the centre of the town, will be safely disposed of by the Startup in the coming days. Each MCC, on an average, spreads over 2,000 sq ft and covers at least 4,000 households, covering four wards within the corporation limits, which comprises 39 wards.

Every day, on an average, 65-70 tonnes of waste are generated in the town. Of this, around 20 tonnes of waste is plastic waste, mostly PET bottles. Each ward has 60-70 streets with around 400 households and a capacity of 300 kg of garbage generation.

Corporation officials said regular disposal of plastic wastes will provide more space at MCCs to treat biowastes into organic manure for farmers in surrounding villages. Initially, the project will be implemented in the core areas of the town before extending it to more areas. The civic body was expanded into a corporation in January 2025 by merging 18 surrounding villages.