The movement to collect and dispose of waste in Ernakulam has gained momentum under the Green Kerala Mission.
Sources in the mission said most local bodies in the district had set up material collection centres for aggregating waste from the respective areas. They said only 16 of the 82 panchayats in Ernakulam now needed to set up collection centres.
The government proposal is to establish around 100 material collection centres across the State under the Rebuild Kerala initiative. The Rebuild Kerala mission was initiated after the devastating floods in August 2018. The proposals also include creating a database on commercially potential resources, riverine biodiversity conservation and rejuvenation, conservation of agro biodiversity, development of sanitary landfills, and integrated facilities for disposal of plastic.
It was also announced that ₹4.5 crore was being set aside for setting up waste collection and disposal centres at government office complexes across the State.
Each district headquarters will have a material collection centre. Larger material collection centres will be set up at the block level to ensure that waste is aggregated and processed in a scientific manner using methods like sorting.
Haritha Keralam Mission (HKM) sources said around 80% of waste collected by local bodies could be disposed of without any environmental issues as they are recyclable.
As part of the ongoing programme, the district collectorate will spare space for collecting, sorting, and disposing waste. The district authorities have designated around 1,200 sq.ft. space near the collectorate canteen at Kakkanad for storing and sorting waste. Work on the facility is expected to begin soon. The facility will collect waste materials from offices at the collectorate and sort and hand them over to HKM.
