As legacy waste woes build, Kerala Hotel Association's collection system draws criticism
KOCHI: The biowaste collection system of the Ernakulam branch of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has been attracting criticism, with many outlets terming it a failure. Poor implementation is leading to the piling up of food waste at eateries, they allege.
“KHRA had entrusted some companies with waste collection. For the past 10-15 days, however, no one has come to collect food waste from our restaurant,” says an employee of an eatery in Kaloor. As a result, we have been forced to deal with bins of rotting food waste, he adds.
“The company arranged by KHRA charges us per kg of food waste. However, now with the garbage turning into legacy waste, making it impossible to weigh, we will have to pay the amount the company quotes,” the staff of another restaurant said.
However, according to Rahim Masafi, district secretary, KHRA, only a few establishments have been affected. “These are just early hiccups. The waste collection system got going on March 20. Even early on there was talk that it will be wound up by March 31. When those concerns were put to rest, the collection vehicles arranged by the contracted companies failed to reach some locations due to technical issues. This resulted in waste getting piled up and turning into legacy waste,” he said.
“To date, priority has been accorded to removing legacy waste. The system will be back on track from Monday. For this we have contracted two companies that will be involved in managing the food waste, while a third has been roped in to deal with plastic waste,” said Rahim. The process of streamlining food waste collection involves dividing the city into two sections, with Kaloor at the nub. One company will deal with areas towards Palarivattom and Edappally and other northern regions, while the other will take care of garbage from areas in the south, east and west.
A meeting was recently called by the mayor to discuss the issue. “The collected food waste will be transported to pig and fish farms. The company will impose an additional charge for legacy waste, which can’t be processed. Legacy waste is buried, and for this labourers are required,” said Rahim. KHRA has contracted a Kozhikode-based company for plastic waste management.