The State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has directed the Thrikkakara Municipality to ensure proper storage of non-biodegradable waste at its material collection facility near the collectorate at Kakkanad.
The board made the recommendation after it found open storage of waste at the facility. It causes leachate flow during the rainy season. The Municipal Secretary should ensure that waste is stored in an enclosed shed, according to a report submitted by the PCB before the State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) on Solid Waste Management.
Rashid Ullampilly, chairman of the municipality’s health standing committee, said steps would be taken immediately to ensure proper storage of waste at the material collection facility. “We have improved the overall waste management scenario. However, the shortcomings detected by the board will be addressed without delay,” he added. The PCB had termed the condition of the material collection and processing facility as “satisfactory”, except for open storage of waste.
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According to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, local bodies should set up material collection and resource recovery facilities. Waste collected from households and commercial institutions should be stored at the material collection facility. Waste should be not dumped in such facilities. Members of Haritha Karma Sena and workers engaged by local bodies should be trained in segregation and storage of waste.
Despite obtaining a satisfactory rating for its material collection facility, the municipality is yet to take steps to comply with PCB directives on management of biodegradable waste. The civic body is among the five municipalities in Ernakulam district that continue to transport its biodegradable waste to the Kochi Corporation’s dumping yard at Brahmapuram.