Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
In a major step to address the growing problem of textile waste in the city’s garbage, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) has launched its first Textile Recovery Facility (TRF). The CSMC administrator, G Sreekanth, inaugurated the centre at the Railway Station MIDC area today (April 25). This facility is being operated by Eco-Sattva, in coordination with the municipal corporation and with support from Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF) and Intellecap.
During the event, the CSMC administrator said, “ Fabric waste takes a long time to decompose and accumulates in large quantities in dumping grounds, increasing the risk of fires, which release toxic gases into the atmosphere. Discarded clothes thrown into rivers and drains also cause serious water pollution. To combat this, and to prevent fabric waste from entering water bodies or landfills, the TRF has been established in the city.”
110 tons fabric waste in store
The TRF has provided direct employment to eight individuals. Over the past year, it has collected approximately 110 tons of fabric waste. The waste clothes in good condition are cleaned, refurbished, and resold. Others are recycled into various useful products. Some are shredded and repurposed into components for other items. Completely unusable clothes are processed for fuel generation.
Deputy Commissioners Vikas Navhale and Lakhichand Chavan, Ward Officers Prajakta Vanjari, Sanjay Suradkar, Samayuddin Shaikh, Rahul Jadhav, Bharat Birhare, and Eco-Sattva office-bearers Gauri Mirashi and Priyanka Waze and others were present on the occasion. The industrialists extending support to the project, Ashish Garde, Dr. Rekha Mahajan, Preeti Shah, and Sudha Bajaj also participated in the programme.
The municipal commissioner emphasised minimising new clothing purchases, noting that globally, 92 million tons of textile waste is generated annually. Starting soon, on the 1st of every month, the corporation will send special collection vans across the city to collect clean textile waste from citizens. He urged residents to donate as many clean clothes as possible and, if time permits, to visit the TRF near Bajaj Bhavan, Railway Station MIDC, to understand its functioning.