THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The international T-20 cricket match to be held in the city on November 7 will be an environment-friendly match. This means spectators coming to the Sports Hub at Karyavattom, the organisers and sponsors of the match will have to follow certain green etiquettes.
Corporation, which has successfully implemented the green protocol for various events in the city, has made arrangements to make the match a zero waste event. Kerala Cricket Association, Suchitwa Mission and District Administration have extended its support. “We cannot fully implement green protocol due to safety reasons. But there are alternative ways to make it eco-friendly,” said Mayor V K Prasanth.
EPR@T20
Steel tumblers associated with green protocol will be missing, but the stadium is unlikely to see drinking water bottles littered around, as the corporation has decided to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) at the venue. “We are implementing EPR for the first time. PepsiCo India which supplies drinking water at the venue has agreed to collect the used bottles.
We are in talks with other stakeholders to comply with the rule,” said Prasanth. Milma, which sells ice creams at the venue, plans to adhere to the rule. “We are selling only scoop ice creams in edible cones. So there will not be any waste generated. We are avoiding ice creams in plastic containers,” said an official of Milma.
The Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016 issued by the Union Environment Ministry introduced the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR). Under the new EPR concept, producers are responsible for collecting waste generated from their products. The local body has rights to collect a fine if a company fails to follow EPR, said an official of the corporation.
Focus on cleanliness
The corporation will carry out cleaning and waste management at the match venue. The cost of which will be borne by KCA. There will be 20 counters inside the stadium to serve snacks and water. Kudumbasree will run it. The food will be served in environment-friendly packs. There will be two sanitation workers and a supervisor for each stall. There will be different bins kept near each stall to collect bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste. Post-match 60 sanitation workers and 15 supervisors will manage the waste generated at the venue.
T-20 for Tree-20 campaign
A lot of paper is used for printing tickets and packing food. The campaign aims at limiting the environmental damage caused by planting saplings. Twenty saplings will be planted around the stadium by eminent personalities. Prakriti, a voluntary organisation based at Technopark, will nurture these saplings. The corporation with the help of KSEB will install and maintain 200 energy efficient LED street lights near the stadium.