The zero-waste campaign, a joint effort being taken up by the district administration, local bodies and civil society organisations, will get under way here on World Environment Day on Friday, according to District Collector U.V. Jose.
The two-year campaign will resort to a multi-pronged strategy to achieve zero-waste status, which will basically focus on a decentralised model for degradable waste and centralised processing for non-biodegradable waste.
According to the Collector, the campaign will formally be launched on Thursday with the lighting of the ‘Suchitwa Deepam’ at Thirunakkara Municipal Grounds.
The ceremony will be marked by the lighting of the traditional lamp with lighted torches being brought from local bodies. This will be followed by the release of the logo and the launch of the theme song.
Ministers Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, K.C. Joseph and M.K. Muneer, MPs, MLAs, heads of local bodies and non-governmental organisations, religious leaders, cultural icons, social activists and others will participate.
On June 5, students in all schools in the district will take the ‘sanitation oath’ at the designated time of 11 a.m. at their respective schools. According to Mr. Jose, the State government has already declared an initial fund of Rs. 1 crore for the project.
According to District Planning Officer K.R. Mohanan, grama panchayats have been asked to earmark Rs. 50 lakh each for the sanitation programme in their respective areas while the municipalities and the district panchayat will have to provide Rs.1 core each.
The non-biodegradable waste such as plastic and e-waste will be collected and handed over to the local bodies to be processed at a centralised facility operated by the Clean Kerala Company Limited. The campaign plans to utilise composting and biogas technologies for processing biodegradable waste at sources. The mechanism for the same would have to be put in place by the respective local bodies. Mr. Jose said the plan was to set up community processing units at the local body level. District panchayat president Nirmala Jimmy, vice president Biju Punnathanam and district panchayat member Philson Mathews participated in the press conference on Saturday.
The two-year campaign will focus on a decentralised model for degradable waste and centralised processing for non-biodegradable waste.
