Residents of Maraimalai Nagar in Chennai can now hope to get gold without spending any money. All they need to invest is some time and store as many empty plastic sachets, polythene covers and other plastic waste below the thickness of 40 microns.

The local body will give a gram of gold for a minimum of 125 kilograms. “We want to combat the menace caused by plastic waste, especially those below the thickness of 40 microns. While most plastic waste collected from households is recycled by workers engaged in primary collection, discarded water sachets and thin polythene covers end up choking drains and water channels,