No concrete steps by Vadavucode-Puthencruz panchayat to manage biodegradable waste

Decentralised systems did not take off as expected: panchayat president

The Vadavuocde-Puthencruz panchayat has not been able to initiate any concrete measure to manage its biodegradable waste, according to official estimates.

The panchayat authorities said they had not been able to protest against the unscientific management of Kochi Corporation’s dumping yard at Brahmapuram, which comes under the local body’s jurisdiction, in view of the lack of initiatives to carry out proper collection and disposal of biodegradable waste. “The panchayat has land to set up a facility to manage food waste. But we have not been able to come up with a proper solution,” said Sonia Murukesan, president of the local body.

The State Level Monitoring Committee on solid waste management and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board had pulled up the panchayat along with five municipalities for its failure to set up biomethanation plants and other processes for ensuring scientific collection and disposal of biodegradable waste.

Ms. Murukesan said the efforts to encourage decentralised biodegradable waste management systems at the household-level did not take off as expected. “Interest among waste generators declined after they cited technical issues in maintaining decentralised systems like biopots and pipe composting,” she said.

The panchayat authorities depend on the dumping yard at Brahmapuram to transport biodegradable waste generated in commercial establishments. As per official records, about one lorry load of food waste is taken to the dumping site every week. Ms. Murukesan said food waste was collected only from shops in the region.

“We have engaged members of the Haritha Karma Sena to collect non-biodegradable waste from the doorstep. They visit households once a month. The waste is taken to the temporary facility of the panchayat at Vadayampathumala,” she said.

The authorities said they had not yet set up a material collection facility to ensure proper storage of plastic waste. The tender proceedings for the facility had been completed, they said.