Dumping of garden waste on the roadside increasing in Tiruchi, residents blame erratic clearance by civic body

Garden waste being collected from a residential area in Tiruchi. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Residents in several parts of Tiruchi have expressed concern over the indiscriminate dumping of garden waste along roadsides in residential areas, pointing to irregular collection by the Corporation.According to residents, garbage collection vehicles assigned to collect garden waste do not visit neighbourhoods regularly, forcing people to dump debris and other green waste on roadside and vacant sites. They alleged that the problem is more acute in narrow and congested localities such as Singarathope, Teppakulam, and Bheema Nagar, where collection vehicles do not enter the streets.Although the civic body has five mini-tippers and five tipper lorries for collecting garden waste, their deployment has not been adequate to meet the demand. In addition, 222 light commercial vehicles are deployed during the day and 21 vehicles at night for garbage collection.A section of councillors raised the issue at the recent council meeting and urged the Mayor to ensure that at least one garden waste collection vehicle is assigned to each ward once every four days to clear accumulated waste.“The accumulation of garden waste along roadsides has not only affected the appearance of residential areas but has also increased the risk of open burning, leading to air pollution,” said a city resident.Meanwhile, a special drive is under way to remove garden waste dumped on roadsides and vacant sites. As part of a drive conducted every Wednesday, sanitation workers, garbage collection vehicles, and excavators have been deployed to clear the waste from all wards.A Corporation official said that, on an average, around 50 trips are undertaken to collect waste from different parts of the city. Most of the complaints are from the K.K. Nagar and Srirangam areas. As the monsoon is approaching, pruning of tree braches is expected to be taken up, he added.Weekly clearanceThe Corporation has appealed to residents to place garden waste for collection only on Wednesdays and to keep it within their premises on other days instead of dumping it in public spaces. Published - July 26, 2026 08:45 pm IST