MANAGING THE WASTE

Today one of the hot picks of the print and electronic media in Kerala is the waste management in Thiruvananthapuram city. The system has been running safe in the hands of Kudumbasree, but somewhere things went wrong. Our responsibility ends when we hand over the waste from our homes to the Kudumbasree activists, we hardly bother where this waste is being taken to! Here lies the crux of the problem.

VILAPPILSALA STINGS!
The wastes generated in the city are a curse for the people of the small village of Vilappilsala. The life at Vilappilsala has become difficult, the dirty smell of waste and the unclean premises of the place have made the residents to revolt. The negative externalities generated by the wastes being dumped there have crossed its levels to make compromise with the people by making any compensation. Hence, there is no ground to blame the people of Vilappilsala, rather every token turns in their favor. Just think of the stingy smell of a single day’s waste at home, poor fate of Vilappilsala is just imaginable.

BIO-DEGRADABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
What ought to be done? The waste generated at houses, shops and markets can be categorized as two: bio degradable and non- bio degradable. Despite the type of waste the core of waste management is reducing the quantity of waste. The attitude of individual is of prime importance. People must engage in maintain a kitchen garden in their terrace or in the plot accompanying their house. The vegetable waste generated at home can be profitably used as manure for the garden. The vegetables from the garden can be freshly picked for cooking, that too pesticide free. The required soil for the same must be made available by the agriculture department by charging a nominal amount.
But this does not mean that all the bio degradable waste generated at home can be used for gardening. The service Kudumbasree friends are further needed.

BIOGAS PLANT
The above said is just a short term solution. Let us see how the wastes collected by Kudumabasree can be fruitfully disposed. With the combined effort of the Government of Kerala and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Biogas plants must be established in the Government office complexes as also the Government schools. These plants will be managed by the Kudumbasree activists. Plants can also be established in markets. This will bring about a perpetual solution to the problem of bio-degradable waste disposal. Moreover the employment of Kudumbasree friends is also ensured. The financial assistance to run the plant is to be provided by the Corporation. The manure generated in these plants can be marketed by Kudumbasree. The energy generated can be used to meet the energy needs of respective complexes (as cooking gas in canteens, lighting etc.).

NON BIODEGRADABLE WASTE DISPOSAL
The major players in this category are paper, metals and plastic, the villain being plastic. But to completely stop the use of plastic all on a sudden is difficult. Substituting plastic with paper will lead to many environmental problems (more trees to be cut down for paper manufacturing). There must be steps from the part the part of the individuals to do reduce the quantity of plastic waste generated. Carrying bags while going for shopping should form a part of our routine, thereby reducing the plastic bags.
Recycling emerges as the sole solution. The recycled plastic can be put to different uses. Here arises the need for establishing plastic treatment plants. The plastic which is of very low quality (below recycling standards) can be used for tarring roads. The road of Gandhipuram area near Sreekariyam stands out as a solid example with a high durability road. Why does Public Works Department turn a blind eye towards this?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM MODEL
The Government and the corporation instead of blaming each other must cooperate to evolve a sustainable solution for this problem. Let us not be searching for models of waste disposal, rather frame our own model suiting our socio- economic environment. It’s high time we recognize our domestic potential at waste management, and present our own ‘Thiruvananthapuaram Model’ to the world at large. Let us hope the worries of the people of Vilappilsala and Thiruvananthapuram city will soon get a long lasting solution.