Kerala - Kochi   

Segregation of waste not picking up in city

KOCHI: The practice of segregating household waste before despatching it for treatment is yet to catch on in the city even as the solid-waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram is all set to become operational.

For the city to get gain maximum benefit out of the plant, the quantity of non-biodegradable waste sent there should not exceed 15 per cent. However, it has been estimated that only 20 per cent of the waste —nearly 36 tonnes — generated in the city each day is segregated, according to the latest estimate of the civic administrators. On an average, the city churns out around 240 tonnes of waste each day.

The collection and dumping of the non-segregated waste at the treatment plant will nurture resistance from the local population and may eventually upset the plans of the city to have a scientific waste treatment centre. Once the non-biodegradable refuse exceed the limit, the civic body will have to divert it for sanitary landfill.

If the waste is segregated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable, there will be around 130 tonnes of waste that can be processed at the plant. Even for the plastic waste, there are takers for unsoiled plastic covers, it was pointed out. The Corporation plans to designate covered vehicles to markets during the closing time of shops for collecting the degradable waste from there. As the refuse comes in large quantities, it will be ideal for the traders to get rid of the waste without waiting for the collection boys to take it away, said civic administrators.

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