THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Flawed waste management policies executed by successive governments have added to the heap of simmering woes that threaten to disrupt the lives of urban residents in the state.
The recent fire at Brahmapuram dump yard, which left Kochiites gasping, is being viewed as a health and environmental hazard. Still, the government is seemingly clueless about dealing with it. Knee-jerk reactions have failed to instil confidence in people.
The state faced a similar predicament over a decade ago when the people of Vilappilsala in Thiruvananthapuram waged a prolonged fight against the waste management plant that made residents’ life hell due to unscientific operations.
The plant was shut down in 2011 following which politicians, environmentalists, waste management experts and policymakers pitched decentralised waste management methods.
However, the suggestions and plans that emerged from various campaigns, seminars and panel discussions never materialised.
Now, 12 years later, another centralised plant, Brahmapuram, is on the verge of closure due to the failure of the state government and local self-government institutions (LSGIs) in learning a lesson from Vilappilsala. Kerala, with a population of over 3.34 crore people, has six corporations, 87 municipalities and 941 grama panchayats.
Together, they generate around 3.7 million tonnes of solid waste every year.
However, the government lacks concrete solutions or decentralised technologies to effectively deal with the crisis, which is aggravating with each passing day due to rapid urbanisation.
The government is also in the dark about alternative solutions for source-level waste management. It is ironic that the CPM-led LDF government, which boasts about championing the cause of decentralised planning and management, is in a hurry to set up centralised waste-to-energy plants – 10 across the state.
“There are a lot of similarities between Vilappilsala and Brahmapuram plants, including the wrong location. Leachates from there severely polluted water bodies,” said environmentalist R Sridhar. “We were against the Brahmapuram plant. There were widespread protests back then, but the Kerala High Court allowed use of the land as a dumpsite until a centralised plant came up, killing the agitation. The Windrow composting plant at Brahmapuram failed and the plant became a major dumpsite with accumulation of nearly 5.25 tonnes of legacy waste,” he said.
With the existing system failing miserably, Kochi is now gearing up to emulate the Thiruvananthapuram model - a decentralised waste management system. Former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, who spearheaded the decentralised system, is confident of cleaning up Kerala within a year.
“Money and technology are not the problems. The mindset of people needs to change. The government is planning to take many measures to ensure segregation at source. Within a year, we can attain proper sanitation,” he told TNIE.
The waste crisis in Kochi, he claimed, can be brought under control in just two weeks.
Sources said arrangements are in place to introduce source-level waste management in Kochi. Isaac said community aerobic composting units will be set up to reduce the quantity of waste being sent to Brahmapuram.
"Only segregated waste will be sent, the bulk will be treated at source. In four to five months, more regional anaerobic waste management systems and material collection facilities will be set up in and around the city,” Isaac said.
How T’Puram corp did it
High-voltage campaigns, green protocol and source-level waste management helped Thiruvananthapuram corporation overcome waste crisis. It took the civic body nearly three-and-a-half years to develop a near-perfect decentralised system. Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth, who was mayor at the time, spearheaded several campaigns and implemented the project under Isaac’s guidance.
“We used to transport 450 tonnes of solid waste per day to Vilappilasala. When the plant closed, public dumping became rampant. Efforts to implement the decentralised system were initiated in 2015. Waste segregation at source and relentless campaigns reduced waste generation. Green protocol was made must for all major events. This reduced plastic waste. The no-burn and zero-waste campaigns too proved highly effective. Community aerobic bins helped rein in public dumping of waste,” said V K Prasanth.
GAIA India coordinator Shibu K N said the government should not spend money on waste-to-energy plants. “We have a successful decentralised system. The government should form a dedicated force under LSGIs just for waste management. Solid waste management should be taken up as a climate programme. Every local body should have an environment committee to monitor waste management,” he said.
Garbage grows