Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) and 'Plan@Earth' are on a mission - to turn waste into wealth. They are planning to launch the 'Wealth out of Waste' (WOW) project in the city. The plan is to collect waste from every household for a price. Bags will be distributed to every household to collect solid waste.

The WOW team will visit the households and collect recyclable waste every 10-15 days.

"Around 40 percent of solid waste like plastic and metal generated in the city is recyclable. The project will ensure better waste management and a safe environment,'' said Mujeeb Mohammed, president, Plan@Earth.

A kilo of waste will fetch a house owner Rs 4 for paper and Rs 2 for metal and plastic."The waste collected will go to a junkyard where it will be segregated and sent for recycling. This will solve the plastic menace as well,'' he said.

ITC, which started the project in Hyderabad a couple of years ago, has extended the it to 15 cities across Andhra Pradesh and launched a pilot project in Tamil Nadu.

The Union Urban Development Ministry has provided funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for the ITC to introduce such projects in 52 cities across the country.

Disposal of plastic waste is a headache for the Kochi Corporation. "The effort to collect and recycle waste, especially plastic waste, is certainly a welcome move,'' said Deputy Mayor C K Manisankar. "But nobody has informed us of such an initiative so far,'' he said.

The plastic waste is now being used for land filling purposes which may cause environmental problems like water contamination. With plastic, metal and paper waste being collected and recycled under the new scheme environmental issues will be addressed as well.