Solid wastes being discarded in open dumping grounds or used as land fill in low-lying areas is causing soil run-off and groundwater pollution.

MUMBAI: A year after it was launched with much fanfare by the BMC, the garbage segregation project has seen a success rate of just about 15%, said officials.

Chennai Corporation has planned to demarcate three new 100-acre sites on the outskirts for the city's solid waste management. The district administrations of the adjoining districts, including Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur, have kicked off their search for the right spot for pieces of land suitable for solid waste management based on instructions from the government.

High-rise buildings and mismanagement of solid waste in the city are two factors adding to greenhouse gases, increasing the local temperature and pollution in the city. Experts who presented different aspects of urban planning and creating low carbon cities at the conference on Low Carbon Cities at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) recently emphasised that future cities must lower their carbon footprint if their citizens are to lead healthy lives.

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Muttambalam area selected for the pilot project. The Kottayam municipality has launched a waste management system that involves door-to-door collection of garbage.

Muttambalam (or Ward No. 18), a residential area in Kanjikuzhy, has been selected for the pilot project of the programme. The programme got under way on Thursday with the collection of waste materials from the District Collector's bungalow.

City residents seem to have reconciled themselves to the fact that the garbage generated in the household is their own responsibility. The city Corporation is also now promoting home-based garbage processing. The small amounts of waste generated in households can be easily processed within the compound. Many options are now available to city residents to treat the bio-degradable garbage generated in each house.

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Residents resort to dumping of waste in open spaces

For proper cleanliness of the city the state government is banking upon the proposed door-to-door collection of the garbage through Public-Private Partnership ( PPP). However, the project announced many years ago is still on the paper.

After failed attempts in attracting private companies despite extending the date for submission of bids, the authorities are claiming that the process will get completed by February end. "We are currently evaluating the technical bids and it will be finalized by the end of next week.