Private recyclers to be brought in to deal with plastic waste
KOCHI: To reduce the amount of plastic going to the landfill and to promote recycling in the state, the Clean Kerala Company Ltd - formed under the Local Self Government Department for effective waste management - has decided to bring in private players. So far, 52 private service providers have come forward expressing interest in tackling plastic waste. A senior official with Clean Kerala Company Ltd said the process to shortlist the service providers is under way.
“We will be able to finalise the list by next week. Many service providers are ready to take it away but we need to segregate it first as some recyclers only accept high-quality plastic. There are a few companies from outside the state too. Almost every company is eligible and we hope to rope in as many as possible,” he said.
The company has also given direction to the Haritha Karma Sena -- the trained team assisting local self-government institutions in waste management -- to segregate waste. There are around 851 Haritha Karma Senas in the state. “We have directed the Sena to segregate and keep the plastic waste at the material collection facility and resource recovery centres. We will be moving it to our warehouses, from where it would be handed over to the recyclers,” said the official.
Clean Kerala Company Ltd has around 15 warehouses in the 14 districts. However, there is a slight slowdown in the waste movement because of the Covid-19 situation. “Our activities haven’t been hit but there is a slowdown because of the lockdown restrictions,” said the official.
As per statistics, around 633 tonnes of plastic waste are generated in the state everyday. And, 60 per cent of the plastic waste generated a day is recyclable. The types of plastic the company plans to segregate include polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE or polyester), high-density polyethylene, PVC, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene and styrofoam.
Plastic generation in state
633 tonnes Quantity of plastic waste per day
18.25 g Estimated plastic waste generated by per person
851 Harithakarmasena
136Plastic-shredding units in the state
146 Resource Recovery Facility
1402 Material Collection Facility