S. Sundar It will help to halve quantum of waste coming from houses Average quantum of waste generated from each household is around 2.5 kg Each district will have at least one plastic recycle unit MADURAI: A comprehensive solid waste management policy is on the anvil to halve the waste generated by houses in town panchayats by 2015, K. Gopal, Commissioner, Town Pachayats, has said. "As of now, the average quantum of waste from each household is around 2.5 kg. At this rate, the quantum of waste in all towns will go up with the passage of time. But we aim to bring it down to around one kg a house by 2015,' he told The Hindu here. Solid waste management had been taken up on a large scale in town panchayats through the Anaithu Town Panchayat Anna Marumalarchi Thittam, he said, and 100 per cent segregation had been achieved in most of the towns. Besides compost yards, a few towns boasted of plastic recycle units to make use of all plastic waste above 20 microns. Dr. Gopal said the policy would seek to further fine-tune waste management to substantially reduce the quantity of bio-degradable waste hitting the streets. The policy would be based on three Rs: reduce, recycle and reuse. Awareness and training programmes would be conducted for stakeholders. Each district would have at least one plastic recycle unit, he said. Residents would be encouraged to hand over non-degradable waste to these units through organised rag-pickers. The units, to be run by self-help groups and voluntary organisations, would pay the local bodies for the reusable waste collected. Furthermore, he said, educational institutions and industrial units would be encouraged to go in for decentralised compost yards. "This will ensure a reduction in garbage collection on the streets and its better utility,' Dr. Gopal said.