Poor response from residents to Chennai Corporation’s appeal for segregated collection of cracker waste

Cracker waste has accumulated on the streets across the city on November 9, 2026 | Photo Credit: R. Ragu Chennai Corporation has received a poor response from residents to its appeal regarding separate collection of cracker waste in specialised bags for safe disposal.Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S.Sameeran said: “It [response by residents] was very poor. Mostly the waste is spilled over the streets.”“The Greater Chennai Corporation had appealed to the public to segregate firecracker waste and hand it over to sanitary workers in separate bags. However, compliance with this request has been relatively poor. So far, approximately 200 tonnes of firecracker waste have been cleared, and the Corporation expects to remove around 450 tonnes by tomorrow,” said Dr.Sameeran.“To expedite the cleanup, an additional 600 sanitation personnel have been deployed across the city. Special bags have also been provided to sanitary workers for the separate collection of firecracker waste. The collected waste will be transported to a dedicated processing facility at Gummidipoondi for scientific and safe treatment,” said Dr.Sameeran.“The Corporation once again appeals to the public to cooperate by segregating firecracker waste and handing it over separately to sanitation workers, rather than mixing it with regular household waste or abandoning it in streets.” Published - November 09, 2026 11:25 am IST