CHENNAI: Soon , there will be 50 centres in the city where plastic waste segregated by residents will be collected, a high-level meeting chaired by environment minister B V Ramanaa at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) headquarters on Monday decided. The waste will then be sold to plastic manufacturers for recycling and the residents paid .

Identification of locations for the project , to be launched across 10 cities in the state , has begun . The project is to be run according to the Union ministry of environment and forests' Plastic Waste Management Rule 2011.

The respective corporations , a senior TNPCB official said , would be responsible for waste collection and disposal . "We are coordinating with plastic manufacturers in the state to buy the segregated waste . It is expected to work as a business model too, as the people segregating and collecting the waste will be paid for that ," he said .

TNPCB member-secretary K Karthikeyan said about 1,700 plastic manufacturing industries in the state will be roped in . "The centres will collect segregated waste for recycling . The segregation methods are being finalized and there are plans to distribute waste bins at the street level to ensure source segregation . Local bodies can also take help from ragpickers ," he said .

He added that the main advantage of collecting plastic waste would be relaying roads . "Jambulingam Street near Valluvar Kottam is an example of a road laid with a mixture of plastic waste . It is said to be more durable ," he said .

All corporations in the state have been advised to implementthesystem immediately . "TNPCB will work as an advisory body for the corporations ," Karthikeyan said adding that Pune had successfully implemented that system . "Pune successfully generates 10MW of power from 700tonnesof municipal solid waste at a plant situated 100km from the city . Local bodies interested in making use of such technologies can come up with proposals ," he said .