GCC’s new guidelines for managing C&D waste comes into effect

From April 21, Greater Chennai Corporation will levy a fine of ₹ 5000 if one is found dumping construction and demolition waste on streets, pavements, drains, public spaces, vacant sites or any other unauthorised location.

Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste includes debris and rubble resulting from construction, re-modeling, repair and demolition operations. Steel, aluminium, wood and other components currently being salvaged for reuse or recycling are not included in this category.

GCC in its revised guidelines insists that “occupiers” generating small quantities of C&D waste during repair or minor renovation shall keep the waste within their own premises until collection by their own means or by GCC-authorised C&D waste transporters or empanelled vendors or lorry owners authorised by GCC to collect waste from door steps.

• Location of C&D waste collection centers:

• Zone 1 – Buckingham Canal Road, Sathangadu, Thiruvottriyur (Adjacent to lorry station, Zone-1)

• Zone 2 – Kamaraj Salai (Near zonal office)

• Zone 3 – CMDA Truck Terminal near Night Shelter (Behind Madhavaram Bus Terminus)

• Zone 4 – Kodungaiyur Dumping ground, Tondiarpet High Road (3rd gate)\

• Zone 5 and 6 – Part of old Cattle depot, Avadhanam Pappier Road, Choolai (Opposite to Corporation School)

• Zone 7 – Vanagaram Road, Athipet dumping yard

• Zone 8 – 1st Main Road, Shenoy Nagar (Near Gajalakshmi Colony)

• Zone 9 – Lloyds Colony (Near Corporation ITI Institute)

• Zone 10 – Gurusiva Street, S.M Block, Jafferkhanpet, Kodambakkam (Near R-10 MGR Nagar Police Station)

• Zone 11 – Nolambur Phase II, 2nd main road (Near Madhuravoyal Taluk office)

• Zone 12 – Nandambakkam TPF near Adyar river bund in Division – 158

• Zone 13 – Arulampatti 2nd street (Near SIDCO Electronics commercial complex)

• Zone 14 – 200 Ft Radial Road, Perungudi Dumping Ground

• Zone 15 – Gangaiamman Kovil Street Extension, Karapakkam (Near Tamilnadu Teacher Education University)

The occupiers can contact GCC’s website for hiring services of the C&D waste transporters or empanelled vendors or the authorised concessionaires and pay necessary collection and transportation charges to transporters and pay for processing fee, says the note.

What kind of a generator are you and where should you dump C&D waste?

Anyone generating less than 1 MT of waste generate from minor house repairs comes under the category of “micro generators”. This waste can be disposed of in earmarked dumping sites or one can call GCC’s toll free number 1913 for a pick-up.

Those generating C&D waste during building renovation, remodelling or repairing where the total weight is more than 1 MT and less than 20 MT per day comes under “Small Generators”. The two processing centres that will be taking such waste are at the dumpyards at Perungudi and Kodinguyur.

A receipt has to be obtained for disposal from the transport service provider or the gate office of the disposal site where C&D waste is disposed of by the micro generators.

Spotting an opportunity in the debris

What becomes of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste dumped at the dumpyards in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur? They make a major source for C&D recycling companies, even for non-profits that are into constructing affordable houses.

In February 2024, Habitat for Humanity, a global non-profit organisation with an office at IIT-M Research Park, constructed a multi-purpose hall at a village school in Kancheepuram using C&D waste.

“We followed benchmarks and standards set by Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council of India. We used M-sand along with C&D waste to make the concrete mix. The sand was first tested to make blocks out of it. Both the blocks and the concrete went into the construction of a multi-purpose hall within the school,” says Deepak Visvanathan, senior technical advisor, Habitat for Humanity.

The company builds affordable homes and works with start-ups to see how this engineering technology can be promoted to construct resource and energy-efficient buildings.

C&D waste for the hall was sourced from the Perungudi dumpyard. “We have partnered with Greater Chennai Corporation to explore other products that can be made with such waste,” says Visvanathan adding that they have also been conducting round tables to educate people about recycling C&D waste.

In various cities, experimental projects to rebuild homes for the underprivileged using construction debris and used materials have been taken up.

Surender Singh, associate professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, says they have been working with government bodies to encourage use of different C&D waste fractions in road construction, especially for the upper pavement layers.

“Three to five layers are applied while constructing concrete roads in highways. In most cases, the contractor uses C&D waste for the lower layer, which we call non-structural application,” says the professor.

Earlier, the Bureau of Indian Standards allowed the usage of C&D waste in construction by up to 25%.

“Our studies at IIT Madras show that even 100% recycled aggregates from waste concrete chunks could be used for constructing concrete roads without affecting their performance in a significant manner. Subsequently, they proposed to increase their usage limit to at least 50%; and roads constructed with such materials are sustainable,” he says.

Researchers from IIT-Madras (professors Manu Santhanam, Ravindra Gettu, and Surender Singh) are currently working on an international project sponsored by the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre to show how C&D waste can be used in making roads on expressways and national highways. “The pilot study of this project will be implemented in Chennai and Ladakh. In Chennai, we plan to take up a test-section that is exposed to a lot of wear and tear due to the movement of vehicles,” says the professor.

Despite such initiatives contributing to a circular economy, recycling C&D waste is still not seen as a viable business opportunity.

Surender Singh says the cost of procuring construction waste is high. Deepak Visvanathan feels governments must offer more incentives to encourage private companies to find opportunities in this sector. “There must be some motivation for a real estate company to buy this waste,” says Visvanathan.