Even as the city Corporation is battling a show-cause notice issued by the Pollution Control Board (PCB) for alleged lapses in waste management, the civic body has won recognition at an international conference themed on zero waste held in Penang, Malaysia.
The Corporation has won recognition in the following areas at the International Zero Waste Cities Conference, according to a statement issued Mayor V.K. Prasanth’s office on Monday: Brand auditing of plastic waste, Green protocol, Zero waste activities in schools, Studies on plastic waste on seashores, and At-source processing of waste.
K. Sreekumar, chairman, Health Standing Committee, accepted the shield on behalf of the Corporation at the function held in Penang.
The two-day Zero Wastes Cities Conference is being organised by the Global Alliance of Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Consumers’ Association of Penang. It is being hosted by the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
Waste management activities undertaken by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation were presented at the conference alongside that of cities from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan.
Ironically, the latest meeting of the Corporation council was drowned in uproar over a notice issued by the PCB asking the Corporation to show reasons why it should not demand an environment compensation of ₹14.59 crore from it. The Opposition BJP and the UDF members had urged the LDF-led council to collect the penalty, if indeed it had to be paid, from the erring officers.
On Monday, Mr. Sreekumar attributed the achievement to the coordinated waste management activities undertaken by the civic body based on public participation and decentralised processing of wastes.
