Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

City swamped by plastic waste

Special Correspondent

Plea to avoid using plastic bags, cups during the Pongala goes unheeded

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The City Corporation's plea to avoid using plastic bags and cups during the Attukal Pongala fell on deaf ears as the city was swamped by mounds of plastic waste on Saturday. Right from morning, stalls set up by voluntary organisations all along the main roads started handing out thin plastic cups containing water, soft drinks and fruit juice to thousands of devotees.

Most of the cups were simply discarded after use, littering the streets and fouling up drains, gutters and canals. Though lesser in number, the plastic carrybags were mainly contributed by traders and the devotees themselves.

The Corporation authorities had launched a week-long campaign urging traders and the general public to avoid using plastic and promote paper cups as a viable alternative. "Apparently, the call went unheeded," said a civic official. He said the plastic waste would be transported to the garbage treatment plant at Vilappilsala.

The processing plant, which is based on composting technology to convert garbage into organic manure, is not equipped to handle plastic wastes. As a result, the site is dotted with huge mounds of plastic sorted out from the municipal waste. There have also been complaints from local people that they are exposed to toxic fumes caused by burning of plastic.

Following a Government order, the Corporation has chalked out a campaign to enforce the ban on plastic containers and packing materials of thickness below 50 microns.

Earlier this month, the Corporation Council approved an awareness campaign to discourage the use of plastic and promote the manufacture of containers and bags using alternative materials such as cloth and paper. The local body is also seeking legal advice on seizure of banned plastic goods and initiate legal action against traders found stocking the material.

However, for the second year in succession, the Corporation succeeded in enforcing the ban on the use of unburnt bricks during the festival. Unlike the bricks fired in a kiln, the unburnt ones crumble easily adding to the dust on the roads. By evening, sanitation workers of the City Corporation swung into action to clean the roads. The sanitation teams have been directed to clean all the roads before Sunday morning. Tanker lorries were pressed into service to wash the roads.

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