KOCHI: With the Brahmapuram dump yard out of bounds, management of waste -- both organic and inorganic -- in the city has been put into question. Taking cognisance of the problem that is taking over the roadsides, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has put forth some suggestions to the Kochi corporation.
“We suggested the setting up of 21 helper cells or daily collection facilities to deal with the plastic waste being generated in the city,” said chairman Pradeep Kumar A B. According to him, when the civic body was asked to work on the suggestion, it notified the PCB that it will be able to set up three centres to tackle plastic waste.
“The civic body has been told to deal with the waste on a daily basis by contracting waste management companies like Clean Kerala Co Ltd or any of the many recycling units that are functioning in and around Ernakulam district. There are more than 60 such units functioning in Thrissur itself,” Pradeep Kumar said. The aim is to ensure that the pile up of plastic waste doesn’t happen, he added.The disposal of food waste will be managed at the source itself, the KSPCB chairman said.
“The civic body has also been directed to repair the windrow composting unit at Brahmapuram. The unit was damaged due to lack of proper maintenance and has been out of order for the past year. The PCB had taken note of the dilapidated condition of the unit and notified the civic body many times. However, it didn’t act on the warnings,” he added.
Meanwhile, T K Ashraf, chairperson of the corporation health standing committee, said, “The three collection points will be set up in Kaloor, Edappally and Mattancherry. The plastic will be collected by Haritha Karma Sena members and transported to the collection centres in vehicles managed by the civic body. Tenders for the vehicles will be floated very soon.” As of now, the company to which the collected waste will be sold has not been decided. “The collection points will be set up at the health office in Kaloor, and the zonal offices in Edapally and Mattancherry,” he added.
Panel to calculate damage
A committee has been set up to assess the damage wrought by the disastrous fire that has been raging for the past eight days at the waste treatment plant. According to the KSPCB chairman, the committee comprising the district medical officer, a scientist from NIIST, among other experts, will assess the effects the smoke from the burning waste at Brahmapuram has had on the people living nearby and in areas where the smoke wreaked havoc. “After the committee submits the report, the damages will be calculated and it will be collected from the corporation,” he added.
Another panel has been formed to come up with recommendations to prevent future fires. It has the KSPCB chairman, an additional chief secretary, who also has the charge of the disaster management cell, and a representative of the Fire and Rescue Services department as members.