The new agencies that were roped in by the Kozhikode Corporation to handle solid waste have begun operations. Health Standing Committee Chairperson S. Jayasree said that Konari Agencies and Universal Agencies have started purchasing segregated waste from the Kozhikode Corporation, and that the piles now found on the road sides, which have become an eyesore, will disappear in less than a week.
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The Corporation has three Material Recovery Facilities, one at West Hill, another at Nellikode, and yet another at Njeliyanparamba. The Corporation has trained 60 members of the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) to segregate plastic into 38 different categories. The segregated waste fetches a definite income for the HKS. There have been complaints earlier that the public was handing over only useless plastic to the HKS, thus robbing them of the possible income. The collected waste at the time was mostly under a category called reject. However, there has been a definite improvement in this matter of late. “Now we have around 70% of recyclable waste,” Ms. Jaysree said. The Corporation has to pay the agencies to remove the reject waste.
The public’s ignorance of different type of wastes and the need to dispose them separately has been posing a challenge to the Corporation. “People mix biodegradable waste with plastic, despite several efforts to sensitise them. This causes additional burden to the HKS and adds to the amount of reject waste,” Ms. Jayasree said.
Hence, the Corporation has made arrangements to educate the people about segregation and proper mode of disposal of biodegradable waste. “We have a centre at Eranhipalam where training programmes are held for all sections of people. Now we have trained the councillors and HKS members. The training will soon be extended to members of residents associations and anyone interested,” Ms. Jayasree added.