Chennai, Oct 7:
The Greater Chennai Corporation collected and disposed of 44.52 tonnes of unwanted household articles from across the city in a single day, as part of its special door-to-door collection initiative aimed at preventing bulky waste from being dumped on roadsides and in water bodies.
The collection was carried out on Saturday, October 3, based on requests received from residents. Corporation sanitation workers collected old and unused household articles from 178 households across the city. As many as 26 vehicles were deployed for the operation.
The items collected included old sofas, mattresses and other household articles that residents no longer needed or were unable to dispose of through the regular garbage collection system.
The collected waste was transported to the Kodungaiyur dumping facility, where it was scientifically incinerated and disposed of, according to the Chennai Corporation.
The initiative is aimed at addressing a common civic problem in Chennai — the dumping of bulky household waste in public spaces. Old mattresses, furniture and other large articles are often difficult for residents to dispose of along with regular household garbage. As a result, such items can end up on vacant plots, roadsides, stormwater drains or water bodies.
To address this problem, the Corporation has been operating a dedicated collection programme since October 2025. Residents can contact the Corporation control room on 1913 and provide information about old household articles that need to be removed from their homes.
Based on the requests received, Corporation teams undertake the collection every Saturday. The system allows residents to hand over bulky unwanted articles directly to civic workers instead of leaving them on public property.
The latest collection highlights the scale of the problem. The 178 households that sought the service generated 44.52 tonnes of unwanted articles, meaning that an average of roughly 250 kg of bulky waste was collected per household.
The initiative is particularly relevant to Chennai’s densely populated neighbourhoods, where residents may have limited space to store old furniture and mattresses until they can arrange private disposal.
The Corporation’s collection system also seeks to prevent such waste from entering the city’s water bodies and drainage infrastructure. Unauthorised dumping of bulky waste can obstruct drains and contribute to civic and environmental problems, particularly during periods of heavy rain.
Residents who have old mattresses, sofas or other large household items that need to be disposed of can therefore make use of the Corporation’s dedicated service by contacting the 1913 control room.
The Corporation’s latest operation demonstrates the potential of a request-based collection system to remove large quantities of bulky waste directly from households and ensure that the material reaches designated disposal facilities.
With the Northeast Monsoon approaching, the initiative also assumes importance as the civic body seeks to keep roads, drains and water bodies free of waste that could otherwise aggravate local flooding and sanitation problems.