Chennai Corporation to permit ragpickers to collect waste from residents and sell them to private recyclers

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will start permitting ragpickers to collect recyclable waste directly from residents’ homes and sell the materials to private companies that recycle waste. The project for alternative livelihood of ragpickers identified at the Kodungaiyur dump yard will be implemented with support from KfW.

A cooperative society of ragpickers from the Kodungaiyur dump yard will be formed this week to facilitate the launch of the waste collection from homes. A total of 56 ragpickers were identified for operating battery-operated vehicles after screening. Most of the 306 ragpickers identified at the dump yard belong to Scheduled Caste communities.

“Each ragpicker will get a battery-operated vehicle to visit homes. The residents in each neighbourhood will get the contact details of the ragpickers who will collect recyclable waste. They will receive training shortly. The residents’ associations will be sensitised about the cooperative society of the ragpickers, which works on the alternative livelihood project,” an official said.

The GCC, with support from Anna University and 11 government departments, has opened bank accounts and obtained Aadhaar cards for ragpickers to facilitate their access to government schemes.