THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an effort to eradicate the plastic waste in the capital, the corporation has embarked on a new mission to start a door-to-door plastic waste collection drive within a month. Kudumbashree workers will start collecting waste from each and every household in the 100 wards weekly once. It will be given to the private agencies for recycling. The volunteers will collect a meagre amount for collecting the waste.The corporation has identified nearly 1,500 Kudumbashree volunteers for this purpose. Apart from collecting waste, they will also give assistance and support to the households on waste treatment at source.
The corporation has also initiated various other initiatives for waste treatment, including installing aerobins at various parts of the city. According to Mayor Arya Rajendran, the door-to-door collection of plastic waste would begin within a month and the local body is in discussion with stakeholders to ensure that it would be implemented without causing any hurdles.
She said the corporation needs to form a bylaw for total waste management. “Some private players are keen on associating with us on waste management. However, we will finalise it very soon,” Arya said.
At present, the civic body collects waste by organising a collection drive at specific locations periodically. Residents can download the Smart Trivandrum application to locate the nearest collection point.
The corporation had launched drives for periodic collection of all kinds of waste a few years ago. The initiative soon became popular, with tonnes of waste collected in a single day, thus reducing the amount of refuse ending up in public spaces. Since the closure of the Vilappilsala waste treatment plant, there has been a grave issue in dumping and treating the waste in the city. Later, the corporation devised an option of waste treatment at source.