Municipal or private contract labourers picked up the waste with
bare hands and deposited it into trailers moved by tractors. The
waste was then transported to the open dump at Karuvadikuppam
(an area of 15 ha with a population of 6866 in and around the
dump) or illegally dumped on the outskirts of town and in nearby
ecologically sensitive water bodies, such as Ousteri Lake and
Thengaithittu Lagoon. In many localities, garbage remained on
the streets for days due to insufficient collection services.