Discarded plastic refuse are all set to generate revenue for the Kochi Corporation. The trial run of the plastic recycling and packaging unit, set up under Public- Private Partnership mode at Brahmapuram, is expected to take place late next month.
The Clean Kerala Company (CKC), a government of Kerala initiative for cleanliness drive, has signed an agreement with the Kochi Corporation to buy soiled plastic at Rs. 6 a kilo.
It is estimated that there would be around 300 tonnes of plastic on the premises of the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram. The CKC, which will purchase the plastic, will sell it at Rs. 12 a kilo. The unit will have an installed capacity to process 5 tonne plastic a day. “According to a rough estimate, 50 tonnes of plastic collected from the city streets are brought to Brahmapuram every day,” said Kabeer B. Haroon, Managing Director of the CKC. Unlike the earlier initiatives in the city where only clean plastic was collected for shredding, the new venture would receive all forms of plastic including the soiled ones. The plastic would be washed and shredded into chips of 4mm size and packed using hydraulic press. “The Erode-based company, which has come forward to set up the unit, will take it to plastic recycling units elsewhere,” he said.