Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Solid waste: State in a blind alley

Thiruvananthapuram: Urban Kerala appears to have hit a blind alley in solid waste management. The State Government’s success rate in solid waste management since the inception of Clean Kerala Mission has been limited. If a recent sectoral assessment study on solid waste management in selected municipalities is any thing to go by, local bodies would continue to grapple with urban wastes despite the Government ban on plastics that came into force from September 1 unless there is total review of the current policies.

According to the sectoral assessment study, conducted by the Social Economic Units Foundation (SEUF), a non-profit organisation under the State Government, only seven of the 58 municipalities or urban areas had adopted a system of storage at sources partially. A large majority of population disposes of the waste on the streets, in the water bodies and in open spaces etc. Only partial segregation of recyclable waste takes place at source. People do salvage saleable recyclable material but throw away a sizable portion of paper, plastic, metal, and glass along with food waste which is over 15% of the total waste generated in the urban areas.

The study said that none of the cities had introduced a system of door step collection of waste barring some efforts made in Cochin, Calicut and few other towns where Kudumbashree scheme is active. The study said there were gaps in sweeping of streets, secondary storage system, inefficient transportation, treatment and scientific disposal of waste.

The SEUF study covered Alappuzha, Koilandy, Aluva, Punalur, Koothuparamba and Neyyatinkkara municipalities, representing 11 per cent of the 53 municipalities in the state based on geographical locations, demography and municipal grade. The SEUF study has identified lack of scientific data about the quantity and quality of waste generated in municipal areas as one of the biggest road blocks to SWM in Kerala.

The figures available with the municipalities were based on eye estimates. Bases on various studies conducted from time to time and SEUF’s provider assessment studies, the average estimated waste generation in panchayats is 200 Grams / capita / day, 300 Grams / capita / day in Municipal Areas and 400 Grams / capita / day in the Corporation areas.

The wastes contained 15 per cent recyclable materials and 67 per cent organic matter.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Making hay while the sun shines
PWD engineers challenge claim made by Isaac
ISRO deal being studied
Gazetted officers’ grievance
New ration cards in 3 months
Schools in Central Prisons soon
K.V. Surendranath Award announced
Doctors warned
Paloli hospitalised
Solid waste: State in a blind alley
Plastic ban to be enforced in phases
Industrial effluents polluting near-shore waters off Veli coast
Hospital upgraded
Modernisation of Motor Vehicles Department checkposts hanging fire
MVD offices to become ‘paperless’ by October
Salem division not to be bigger than Palakkad: Kerala CM
Court asks official not to open temple cellars
High-rises more vulnerable to burglary
Doctors plan ‘Betrayal Day’
TRAC seeks dismissal of Collector
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu