Thrikkakara panchayat, which provided one of the first models of sustainable waste management in the State, will now renew its efforts to find a permanent solution to the continuing problem of rising heaps of waste across its residential areas with the help of residential associations that have expressed their willingness to segregate waste to enable proper handling and disposal.
Thrikkakara panchayat president Sabitha Kareem told The Hindu that waste disposal was a major problem facing the panchayat. The problem can be solved only with the participation of the people, she said.
The panchayat has sufficient installed capacity already to handle about 1.5 to 2 tonnes of segregated waste daily, she said.
However, segregation — basically between bio-degradable and plastics, had not happened so far.
Former panchayat president and member of the District Panchayat M. E. Hassainar said that Thrikkakara had provided a model for the State in localised handling of waste more than a decade ago.
The problem of segregation continued to persist with waste now being collected without discrimination and being dumped in a public place.
Secretary of Thrikkakara Residential Associations' Apex Council M. S. Anil Kumar said that the residential associations were ready to cooperate with the panchayat authorities to find a permanent and lasting answer to the problem of waste management.
The residential associations are ready to be part of the solution to the problem with backing from the panchayat authorities, said Salim Kunnumpuram of the Apex Council. He said that the Council was ready to hold an awareness campaign, take classes and even provide physical facilities for helping residents segregate waste so that it could be disposed of properly.
A spokesman for the Thrikkakara panchayat said that since 1998 the panchayat had been in the forefront for finding a permanent solution to the waste problem.
Having emerged as one of the major hubs for information technology (IT) industry in the State, the panchayat had to be a model for others in Kerala, he said.
It was with this view that capacity for treating about 1.5 tonnes of bio-degradable waste was installed in different phases at a combined cost of Rs. 50 lakh, he said.
Vermi compost units at the NGO Quarters and Surabhi Nagar; 20 bio-bins near the Thrikkakara panchayat office and four bio-gas plants at different stages of completion at various locations can meet the current requirement for waste disposal, he added.
