The menace of plastic continues to plague Ernakulam.
A survey conducted by local bodies in the district and initiated by Haritha Keralam from August 6 to 13 has revealed the alarming levels of use of plastic carry bags in municipalities and grama panchayats across the district.
Volunteers including members of the Kudumbasree Mission visited 4.92 lakh and 90,227 houses in 75 grama panchayats and 13 municipalities respectively in Ernakulam to assess the solid waste disposal methods. Only 32% of the houses in grama panchayats had a proper waste disposal system while the corresponding figure for the 13 municipalities was 53%.
Plastic bags
The survey found that 3.01 lakh households in grama panchayats used plastic carry bags while buying groceries and other items from shops. While 76,973 households used only cloth bags, 98,301 were found using either cloth bags, gunny bags or jute bags to carry groceries and other items for daily use.
The plastic waste scenario was equally worse in 13 municipalities as per the findings of the survey. About one lakh households used plastic carry bags while 16,585 used cloth bags only. About 28,230 households used either cloth bags, gunny bags or jute bags. Officials associated with the survey said the final data related to the status of solid waste disposal in households under the Kochi Corporation and the remaining seven grama panchayats was being processed.
Manure, biogas plants
Of the 90,227 households surveyed in 13 municipalities, 27,769 families used biodegradable waste for agricultural purposes, while 14,532 provided it as feed to animals and birds.
As many as 7,044 households used it for making compost manure, while 1,260 families used it for running biogas plants.
As many as 95,301 households handed it over to the local bodies concerned while 1,959 households gave it to private agencies involved in collection of solid waste.
Interestingly, 4,141 families in 13 municipalities admitted that they dumped biodegradable waste in open places while 2,735 families threw such waste carelessly in public places.
As many as 3,906 families said that they dumped non-biodegradable waste in public places while 2,477 households said they had thrown it carelessly in open places. The number of families who admitted that they burn non-biodegradable waste was 80,724.
As many as 32,750 families handed over non-biodegradable waste to private individuals or agencies while 30,456 households handed it over to the local bodies concerned. The number of families that stored such waste in their homes itself was 10,019.
Waste collection
As many as 54,052 families in 13 municipalities said they were ready to hand over biodegradable waste to agencies appointed by the local bodies after paying a fee while 15,687 households said they were ready to use the waste for generating manure after dumping it in compost pits being set up as part of the employment guarantee scheme or otherwise in various regions.
Only 23,603 households out of the 90,227 surveyed, separated biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. In the 75 grama panchayats, the corresponding figure was 86,692.
The survey found that 18,168 families in 75 grama panchayats dumped their biodegradable waste in public places while 36,015 households threw waste around carelessly.
As many as 28,705 families dumped non-biodegradable waste in public places while the number of families throwing it carelessly was 45,794. About 2.16 lakh families agreed to hand over biodegradable waste to the agencies appointed by the local bodies by paying fee while 1.88 lakh households said they were ready to use it for generating manure.
