THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Accumulation of collected non-biodegradable waste is turning into a major headache for local bodies across the state. Ever since the launch of the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign and the deployment of Haritha Karma Sena members, the collection of non-biodegradable waste has exponentially increased leading to accumulation at Material Collection Facilities (MCFs) and Resource Recovery Facilities (RRFs) across the state. According to official sources, on average 12,000 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste is being collected and moved for scientific handling.
To tide over the crisis, the LSG Department is planning to rope in private parties, and start-ups in various areas of waste management ranging from processing and transportation to operation and maintenance of facilities. LSG Department Additional Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan told TNIE that private parties will be roped in to ensure effective waste management in the state.
“Our existing system is inadequate and we are planning to welcome more private players in the waste management sector. We are in the process of drawing up guidelines to rope in private parties. There are start-ups and other private players who have come up with projects. We will soon come up with guidelines so that local bodies can collaborate with private parties. A lot of these existing issues will be sorted once this works out,” said Sarada Muraleedharan.
With rising complaints on the part of the local bodies, the LSGD has taken steps to expedite the transportation of accumulated waste. “We thought the Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign would help reduce waste generation but it didn’t happen and the collection of waste has increased and we are trying to improve the existing system to effectively handle the collected waste,” said an official. The enforcement of the new ordinance will also lead to collection of more waste.
Around 789 local bodies have tied up with Clean Kerala Company Ltd and private service providers empanelled by the company. “We have taken steps to ensure the carting away of accumulated waste at MCFs. A majority of them have already been cleared and there are 130 more MCFs left and all of them will be cleared within two weeks,” said the official.
According to Clean Kerala Ltd, the collection of segregated waste has increased manifold since its launch. “Before the campaign, we were only collecting around 400 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste per month and now it is more than 1000 tonnes. The capacity of MCFs and RRFs is inadequate and efforts are under way to set up bigger facilities for storage of collected waste by local bodies,” said the official.