Building for a clean and waste-free Kochi
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The Kerala Builders Forum has come up with a scheme to enable the existing apartments to handle the waste they generate, writes Shyama Rajagopal
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New initiative: Sights like this one will hopefully become a thing of the past as the city becomes cleaner due to the initiatives being taken at different levels.
The builders in Kochi have come up with a Clean Kochi scheme in the wake of the acute problem of waste disposal in the city, which the Kochi Corporation failed to handle on its own.
In every project henceforth, the concept will be ingrained so that good practices of waste segregation and disposal methods become a habit. The scheme also involves employment generation. It is the existing buildings and apartments in Kochi where the
project will be launched immediately, said George E. George, secretary of Kerala Builders’ Forum.
The formal launch of Clean Kochi will take place at the ongoing Kerala Property Expo - 2007 at Marine Drive Ground on Saturday.
The scheme
The scheme will be introduced in fifty projects in the first phase. In the second phase after about three-four months, 200 more projects would be involved in the scheme, he said.
“Though we are starting the project for residential areas, any organisation would be able to take technical support from us,” said Mr. George. The forum plans to impart professional training to 1,000 participants. Initially, units like Kudumbashree and other self-help units already involved in clearing waste in many panchayats and municipalities would be given technical guidance.
The forum has tied up with Hi-Tech Bio Fertilizers India, which would provide material and technical know-how. Bio-bins will be introduced for aerobic composting of biodegradable waste. Natural micro-organisms would trigger the break down of waste in about 15 to 20 days.
The trained personnel would be handling the waste management in a particular area or colony.
According to Jose Joseph, Executive Director, Hi-Tech, the project had been started at one city corner where waste had piled up. The Kudumbashree unit engaged in segregation of waste and composting have now developed a garden in that area, he added.
The project is being run in Calicut Medical College, Ernakulam General Hospital, Koothattukulam Government Hospital, Karakkonam Medical College and Thrikkakkara Grama Panchayat.
Shredding machine
Plastics would be collected separately. A plastic shredding machine is being bought for the Thrikkakara Kudumbashree unit by the KBF at a cost of Rs. 58,000. This is a pilot machine, which has a capacity of shredding one tonne of plastic a day, said Mr. George. Depending upon the success of the scheme more machines will be bought. The machine should be able to give returns to the Kudumbashree workers.
In places where there is an organised system of waste collection, the workers will be trained in segregation of waste and collecting it, which will be taken up for composting by Kudumbashree workers.
In residential areas, where there is no organised manner of waste collection, the KBF would help provide them with trained workers, said Mr. George.
“We will provide hand gloves, aprons and other tools necessary to make Clean Kochi a success. We have not taken up the project because it has become mandatory. Only the new projects need to follow this rule. The idea of our campaign is to carry forward a movement that will make the city free from piled up garbage. It is a long term plan for KBF,” he said.
Strong support
The builders would be supporting the movement till the scheme becomes self-sustainable and the groups collecting and composting the waste start generating enough revenue. In places where waste segregation and collection can be implemented in an organised manner the builders will request the return of the initial amount that was given to start the system.
“We would like to support the system in those places where there is no organisation or association to take care of it, Mr. George said.
For an apartment complex of 100 units the cost of providing the bio-bins and waste collection buckets would come up to about Rs. 30,000 - Rs. 35,000. The builders would also be funding the cost of an autorickshaw for a Kudumbashree unit to carry the waste.
Bringing awareness to people is part of the campaign and it will start with organising programmes at the school level and to residents in colonies and apartments, Mr. George said.
The Corporation has planned to build a plastic recycling unit after the solid waste processing unit is completed at Brahmapuram, said C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor.
However, till the project comes up, the Corporation would be collecting the waste in the same manner as before, he said.
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