Udupi Zilla Panchayat President Dinakar Babu said on Friday that the process of garbage disposal could be simplified if people reduced the use of plastic items.
He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop-cum-meeting on the management of solid and liquid waste for select gram panchayat presidents, Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), doctors, teachers, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and anganwadi workers, here. He released a poster on Green Protocol on the occasion.
Mr. Babu said that garbage disposal was a challenge to all gram panchayats in the district. The gram panchayats should urge the people to dispose of their domestic waste through pipe compost and to reduce use of plastic. This would reduce the problem of garbage disposal to a large extent.
According to a survey last year, Udupi district had bagged the seventh place in garbage disposal at the national level. This year, the district should improve its position in the ranking. This required the cooperation of the people, voluntary organisations and departments, he said.
All the gram panchayats should select a day in the week for the disposal of solid and liquid waste. He had roped in youth organisations in his own constituency in the drive to reduce plastic. Instead, steel and other eco-friendly items were being used.
All voluntary organisations in the district should work towards this end. Awareness should be created against the use of plastic items in marriage halls, Mr. Babu said.
Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis said that people should also be made aware that many items disposed of as garbage could be recycled and reused. Garbage could be treated as resource which could be used for economic empowerment.
The word garbage was being used in the last two decades. But the previous generations were good at disposal and re-use of waste. In fact, after modernisation, people had started using more plastic leading to the problem of waste disposal. The participants should implement the Green Protocol. Everyone should contribute in managing waste, she said.
Deputy Secretary of Zilla Panchayat Nagesh Raikar and Chief Planning Officer Srinivas Rao were present.
