Alappuzha is among five places in the world that have been recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as success stories in fighting the problem of solid waste.
In a report, ‘Solid approach to waste: how 5 cities are beating pollution’, it notes that while many have yet to rise to the challenge, these five cities have successfully created ‘a solid approach to waste.’
Besides Alappuzha, the other cities on the list includes Osaka (Japan), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Penang (Malaysia) and Cajicá (Colombia).
The report says Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose World Environment Day 2017 to launch a drive to address the mountains of trash piling up in streets and landfills across India. “To implement it, cities across the world’s second most-populous nation could do worse than follow the example of progressive municipalities like Alappuzha,” the report reads.
According to the UNEP Alappuzha addressed the problem by introducing a decentralised waste management system. “A few years ago, roadsides and canals filled with stinking garbage were threatening coastal Alappuzha’s status as a tourist destination as well as exposing residents and visitors alike to clouds of flies and disease-spreading mosquitoes. Protests by local residents had led to the closure of the city’s main landfill site in 2014.
“Since then, the city in the eastern State of Kerala — dubbed “the Venice of the East” for its network of backwaters and coastal lagoons where tourists can rent houseboats — has addressed the problem by introducing a decentralised waste management system. This separates out biodegradable waste at the ward level, treats it in small composting plants, and provides many of its 1,74,000 residents with biogas for cooking,” the report notes.
Pollution theme
Pollution is the theme of the 2017 UN Environment Assembly, which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from December 4 to 6. “Five of the 50 anti-pollution actions listed in a new UN Environment report relate directly to solid waste. One emphasises that carefully crafted policies and regulation at the national level are vital to moving our economies onto a more sustainable track. But it is usually up to cities and towns to implement them on the ground,” the UNEP says.
Alappuzha in among a handful of municipalities that received the Clean City Award from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2016. Recently, the CSE included Alappuzha in a unique forum of cities which have adopted source segregation to become pioneers in waste management in the country.
