THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The absence of consistency in the waste management policies of the city corporation is worsening the waste crisis in the capital. Though the new council claims to continue every initiative of previous ones, it hasn’t taken any efforts to relaunch the ‘Ente Nagaram Sundara Nagaram’ campaign, one of the trumpeted initiatives launched in 2014 to promote decentralised waste management and propagate the idea of ‘My Waste My Responsibility’. Green Army, an initiative of the corporation, that spearheaded many campaigns as part of the project to root out plastic and promote green protocol has become defunct after the new council took charge.
Many people complain that the corporation is not taking steps to strengthen the system and promote decentralised initiatives for waste management. The authorities are yet to restructure the campaign cell, one of the main components of the ‘Ente Nagaram Sundara Nagaram’ campaign. According to experts, continuity is essential for sensitising the public on the need for segregation and proper disposal of waste at the source.
Eco-friendly shops, cloth bag making units a non-starter
Due to lack of proper maintenance, the community waste management system — Thumboormuzhy aerobic bins — introduced by the civic body during the previous term are lying unused partially or fully in many wards.
The authorities are not taking many steps to strengthen and expand community waste management in the capital, which is one of the primary reasons for waste accumulation.
Former Mayor and Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth told TNIE that the decision of the city corporation to tie up with pig farmers for transporting food waste generated in the capital would only scuttle the existing system that aims to dispose of waste at the source. Recently, the civic body had tied up with pig farmers and has deployed Haritha Karma Sena for door-to-door waste collection in Peroorkada ward on a pilot basis.
“Maybe the new system will offer a livelihood to many. However, this will encourage citizens to leave the waste outside. They will forget the culture of waste segregation and management at the source. It took a lot of effort to put this system in place in the absence of a centralised waste treatment plant. As per the norms, disposing of food waste at pig farms is against solid waste management rules. Also, there are not many pig farms in the state to dispose of tonnes of solid waste,” said Prasanth. The waste management model of segregation and decentralisation had won many accolades.
“The corporation won many awards and the Union Government included our waste management models in its policies. It was the first time in the country that such concepts were introduced and a local body segregated around 22 types of waste. We had a better system in place than any other local body in the country and we should promote it further,” said Prasanth. He said the civic body can resolve the current waste crisis in the capital.
“With combined efforts, we can clean up the waste accumulated in the capital within a week,” he added. Various initiatives were launched as part of the campaign and the civic body tied up with Kudumbashree Mission to launch a cloth bag manufacturing unit.
This initiative would make available alternatives to plastic carry bags at reasonable rates. In addition to this, the civic body had planned to open eco-friendly shops to promote the sale of responsible green products for daily use. The shops were supposed to promote reusable sanitary napkins and cotton diapers.
Project secretariat
It is learned that the corporation is yet to reconstitute the technical committee under the project secretariat, a unit of the health wing.
It has been six months since the civic body chaired a meeting with the technical committee members to discuss the new action plan for rooting out single-use plastic and disposables.
Technical committee member K N Shibu said several recommendations were put forward to the new council to strengthen the campaign.
“A grassroot campaign and a unified approach in waste management are required to make this a success. During the previous council, we had established a system for segregation. Several initiatives were launched to promote alternative products to replace disposables,” said Shibu. However, following the pandemic outbreak, all initiatives came to a grinding halt.
“Conducting expo is good. But we need extensive awareness campaigns to sensitise the public. Public participation is key to making such initiatives successful. We have recommended community-level events to promote the importance of segregation and waste management. In the meeting, the response was positive. We hope they will establish these initiatives in the coming weeks,” he said.
Another official said the Green Army should be given more opportunities. “Involvement of students will make a huge difference. They will spread the message to the elderly people at home. Unfortunately, there is a break in the continuity,” said the official.
Green plans
Health standing committee chairperson Jameela Sreedharan said “The corporation’s policy is to promote decentralised waste management. We introduced waste collection in some of the wards and deployed Haritha Karma Sena to put an end to illegal waste collection. We have decided to enforce a plastic ban from January 15. As part of it, we will seize plastic products having thickness below 75 microns and levy fines. We will be promoting kitchen bins and biogas plants at households for source-level waste management.”