For quite some time, the Thadambattuthazham Residents Association (TRA), like others in the city, has been grappling with the problem of mounting non-biodegradable waste in their neighbourhood.
Their dilemma worsened when volunteers of the Kudumbasree Mission refused to take plastic waste. Then the residents started devotedly collecting plastic waste from households and submitting that at the West Hill Plastic Recycling Unit. But they had no idea how to safely dispose other items such as bottles, glasses, rubber and leather shoes. Broken tiles, tubes and bulbs, cans, computer hardware, discarded packing materials and polyurethane foam got accumulated at houses and lanes. “It was then we decided to contact the Vengeri-based Niravu employing its resources in collecting such articles and sending them for recycling,” said K. Jayan, secretary, TRA.
A truckload
Subsequently, the residents of the 165-odd houses of the association were asked to bring the non-biodegradable waste at three points on the Florican Road and at Thadambattuthazham junction between 7 and 7.30 a.m. on Saturday. “They were asked to segregate the waste into seven categories. Unsurprisingly it was a truckload of glass pieces, unused electronic equipment, vehicle batteries, polythene covers, defused CFL bulbs and tubes,” he said.
Now their mission is to make the Florican Road-Thadambattuthazham locality in the Malaparamba ward of the city totally garbage-free. “Plastic bags are collected once in three months. And we hope to continue the collection of non-degradable articles once in six months,” Mr. Jayan said.
The residents’ associations in the city are active in organising annual get-togethers. “But they have not seriously given a thought to this type of activities,” said Babu Paramabathu, project coordinator, Niravu. Ever since the civic body decentralised the waste management programme, a few residents’ associations have devised their own methods to tackle biodegradable waste and non-degradable garbage. To a small extent, officials have taken steps to implement schemes at ward-levels to overcome the crisis.
Zero waste scheme
Niravu has been spearheading the zero budget-zero waste scheme for the past seven years. At present the Payimbra ward in Kuruvatoor grama panchayat and Thiruvangoor ward in Chemancherry grama panchayat are associating with the programme.
“Unfortunately we do not get the wholehearted support from the local bodies. The Centre has allocated Rs.640 crore to the State for sanitation and waste disposal. But even today bureaucrats are still engaged in awareness programmes. They need to envisage an action plan,” Mr. Babu said. Deputy Mayor P.T. Abdul Latheef, who represents the Malaparamba division, said that councillors should take the initiative in their respective wards.
