Plastic task forces will be ready in all coastal districts in the State in the next two months under the aegis of Thanal, a city-based public interest research organisation, to combat the plastic menace on beaches and in the sea.
The task forces are being formed in the wake of a study conducted by Thanal on plastic litter along the Kerala coast in March this year. The study found 1.66 pieces of plastic in every square metre of beach along the coast. The index value in terms of weight of plastic was calculated at 10.31 gm per square metre.
Scientific disposal
The task forces will also create awareness among the public of the plastic threat. They will also be trained in scientific plastic disposal.
Online registration for joining the plastic task forces is under way.
School and college students too are being roped in for the task forces, expected to be 200-strong volunteer teams.
Three regional task forces will also be set up.
The task forces will conduct workshops and classes.
The beach clean-ups organised by the Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram task forces in September had given an idea of the volume of plastic waste there.
A brand audit was then held to make policy level interventions such as getting manufacturers to take responsibility for management of final stages of a product.
A massive clean-up along the entire Kerala coast and study of plastic litter will be organised March next too on the lines of the similar exercise held this year to gauge any changes in plastic waste volume or profile.
