KOCHI: The sorry sight of plastic waste littering the beaches in the district could become a thing of the past after March 31. As part of turning Fort Kochi, Munambam, Cherai and Kuzhuppilly beaches into green destinations following a state government directive, the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) will be implementing various initiatives.
“The Suchitwa Mission carried out a gap assessment study and has submitted a report to the DTPC, in which various issues were pointed out,” DTPC secretary Lijo Joseph told TNIE.
The main gap pointed out was a lack of adequate number of waste bins in and around the beaches, he said.
“Not that there are no waste bins at all. However, they are scattered and few. It has also been decided to set up boards that direct tourists to the location of the waste bins. Another initiative is to educate the vendors and the shopkeepers near the beaches on the need to avoid single-use plastics,” Lijo said.
The plan is to phase out plastic water bottles from these beaches. When asked about the timely collection and disposal of plastic waste from the waste bins, the official said, “We have a team in place at all the destinations that see to timely collection and disposal of the waste from the bins.
There are 22 people at Fort Kochi and a team of around four to five at other beaches. We have arrived at a plan, discussed at a meeting with the district collector recently, on how to go about the collection and disposal.”
In the long run, the department aims to turn these destinations into plastic-free zones.
“We are thinking of setting up water kiosks at beaches so tourists can refill the water bottles they bring with them or even the pet bottles they buy. Refilling pet bottles will dissuade them from throwing them once the bottle runs out of water,” the DTPC secretary said.
Another idea, which is yet to be finalised, is to introduce steel water bottles at a nominal fee, he pointed out.
“The aim is to make the beaches plastic-free. As for toilet facilities, DTPC will be holding talks with the Kochi corporation to get the toilets at the parks under the civic bodies opened for tourists’ use.
Also, under the green practices, steps will be taken to develop a digital platform or a mobile app that will help tourists get all details on destinations, including facilities available. The aim is to make the destinations flyer-free,” Lijo said.