Chennai residents propose ‘Green Chennai Initiative’ as alternative to WtE plant
Chennai: In a major push towards sustainable urban living, the Federation for North Chennai Residents Welfare Association has proposed a people-centric and climate-resilient alternative to the contentious waste-to-energy (WtE) incinerator project planned at the Kodungaiyur dumpyard.
The initiative, titled the Green Chennai Initiative (GCI), envisions transforming Chennai into India’s first zero-waste city by adopting decentralised and inclusive waste management strategies.
T.K. Shanmugam, president of the Federation, said the plan was drafted at the request of Mayor R. Priya, who had sought viable alternatives to the WtE project that involves burning municipal solid waste (MSW) to generate electricity.
“We will formally submit the proposal to the Mayor at Ripon Building on Monday afternoon,” he said.
Chennai currently generates approximately 7,600 tonnes of MSW every day, of which 68 per cent — around 5,160 tonnes — is biodegradable. The GCI outlines a tiered wet waste management system that begins at the household level and scales up through division and city-wide infrastructure.
“Source segregation will be made compulsory across the city,” Shanmugam said. According to the proposal, at least 30 per cent of the city’s wet waste can be treated at the source itself — in apartments, homes, malls, hotels and party halls — through sustained awareness campaigns that promote composting and biogas generation.
“Kerala follows a similar model successfully, and it can be replicated in Chennai,” he said.
“Residents who compost their waste at source should be incentivised through property tax rebates,” said Shanmugam.
The GCI also proposes the creation of a decentralised infrastructure network to manage the city’s biodegradable waste, which includes 302 Micro-Composting Centres (MCCs) to process 1,510 tonnes per day.
The proposal also includes 120 Decentralised Biogas Plants with a combined capacity of 600 tonnes per day. Twenty Centralised Compressed Biogas (CBG) Plants, each handling 100 tonnes, collectively managing 2,000 tonnes daily, are also proposed.
“This system will ensure that Chennai’s wet waste is managed without sending it to landfills, reducing the environmental and logistical burden of transporting waste across the city,” Shanmugam said.
Dry waste, which makes up 2,300 tonnes per day, will be handled through decentralised Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), each with a capacity to sort 50 tonnes. These MRFs will function as hubs for collecting recyclables and connecting them to the formal recycling industry.
The GCI also accounts for the management of 160 tonnes of domestic hazardous waste per day through 15 dedicated facilities designed for safe handling and disposal.
Significantly, the initiative includes the establishment of a Zero Waste Institute in Chennai. The institute will study residual waste patterns and recommend upstream interventions, such as redesigning non-recyclable products and phasing out harmful materials like multi-layered plastics and plastic-lined paper cups.
Strongly opposing the WtE incinerator, Shanmugam said that burning 2,300 tonnes of dry waste would produce over 500 tonnes of toxic ash daily, leading to severe environmental hazards due to unsafe disposal.
Instead of the WtE project, the GCI proposes an ambitious vision for the Kodungaiyur site: transforming it into an eco-park and a multidisciplinary learning centre. The facility would feature a large public library and offer free accommodation for students preparing for civil services and competitive exams like Group I and II.