The waste management system that is being implemented in Kerala's coastal town of Alappuzha has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as one of the 5 models across the world for fighting the pollution menace.
Alappuzha has been listed in the UNEP environment report entitled, 'Solid approach to waste: how five cities are beating pollution' alongside cities like Osaka in Japan, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Penang in Malaysia and Cajica in Colombia.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had also lauded the unique initiative and the town that attracts tourists from all over the world emerged as the cleanest city in the country in the survey conducted by them in 2015-16. It was also presented as a zero-waste model at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.
Kerala Suchitwa Mission officials said that the parameters considered for the survey were based on the centralized system of waste management involving the door-to-door collection and centralized waste processing. However, Alappuzha followed a decentralized system under which the waste is managed at the source itself.
Door-to-door and centralized treatment of waste is not practical in a state like Kerala with a very high-density population. It may not be sustainable too in the long run. It is debatable whether Swacch Bharat Mission should change their approach or not.
Alappuzha addressed the problem by introducing a decentralized waste management system. In fact, many civic bodies in the country have started looking at the Alappuzha model seriously. Some local bodies in Tamil Nadu have already sought the assistance of the Suchitwa Mission in setting up the decentralized waste management system, the mission official said.
Biogas plants, both portable and fixed, were installed in households, with 50 percent subsidy from government agencies. Hotels, vegetable markets, wedding halls were asked to have their own plants or make arrangements to entrust their waste to recognized private service providers. Within a month, the scheme was rolled out in 12 more wards. The urban body has so far established 5,000 kitchen bins, 3,000 biogas plants, 2,800 pipe composting units, and 218 aerobic composting units to manage 58-60 tonnes of waste the town generates daily.
Plastic and other non-degradable wastes are segregated at the source and delivered to the respective units. While the kitchen waste can be deposited in public aerobic bins, the plastic waste is separately collected once a month by the municipality officials from the units or households and handed over to private parties for recycling. Plastic waste can also be given to the state government's Clean Kerala Company which sells it to factories in other states.
The waste deposited at the aerobic compost plants in public places is converted into organic fertilizers and distributed to the public free of cost. Each unit, comprising two bins, processes 2,000 kilograms of waste and converted it into fertilizer within 90 days. The municipality has plans to sell it at subsidized rates in the coming months.
Suchitwa Mission officials said that the success of the model had encouraged several civic bodies in the state to switch over to decentralized waste management. While 20 municipalities and 300 village panchayats have already launched the project, the others have started the process. A senior official said their target was to cover the entire state within the next two years.
The municipality also encountered resistance when aerobic plants were set up in the public places. The municipality solved this problem by beautifying the area around the aerobic units. The walls of the units were decorated with attractive paintings and converted some as parks and meeting places. One such park has now become a tourist attraction in the town.
However, the municipality officials are hopeful that they will be able to sustain the project since they have been able to bring about a behavioral change in the people. This will not only help maintain the city but also attract more tourists to the city.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/keralas-zero-waste-alappuzha-among-top-five-cities-in-un-list-to-successfully-manage-solid-waste-4236667.html
Alappuzha has been listed in the UNEP environment report entitled, 'Solid approach to waste: how five cities are beating pollution' alongside cities like Osaka in Japan, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Penang in Malaysia and Cajica in Colombia.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had also lauded the unique initiative and the town that attracts tourists from all over the world emerged as the cleanest city in the country in the survey conducted by them in 2015-16. It was also presented as a zero-waste model at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.
Kerala Suchitwa Mission officials said that the parameters considered for the survey were based on the centralized system of waste management involving the door-to-door collection and centralized waste processing. However, Alappuzha followed a decentralized system under which the waste is managed at the source itself.
Door-to-door and centralized treatment of waste is not practical in a state like Kerala with a very high-density population. It may not be sustainable too in the long run. It is debatable whether Swacch Bharat Mission should change their approach or not.
Alappuzha addressed the problem by introducing a decentralized waste management system. In fact, many civic bodies in the country have started looking at the Alappuzha model seriously. Some local bodies in Tamil Nadu have already sought the assistance of the Suchitwa Mission in setting up the decentralized waste management system, the mission official said.
Biogas plants, both portable and fixed, were installed in households, with 50 percent subsidy from government agencies. Hotels, vegetable markets, wedding halls were asked to have their own plants or make arrangements to entrust their waste to recognized private service providers. Within a month, the scheme was rolled out in 12 more wards. The urban body has so far established 5,000 kitchen bins, 3,000 biogas plants, 2,800 pipe composting units, and 218 aerobic composting units to manage 58-60 tonnes of waste the town generates daily.
Plastic and other non-degradable wastes are segregated at the source and delivered to the respective units. While the kitchen waste can be deposited in public aerobic bins, the plastic waste is separately collected once a month by the municipality officials from the units or households and handed over to private parties for recycling. Plastic waste can also be given to the state government's Clean Kerala Company which sells it to factories in other states.
The waste deposited at the aerobic compost plants in public places is converted into organic fertilizers and distributed to the public free of cost. Each unit, comprising two bins, processes 2,000 kilograms of waste and converted it into fertilizer within 90 days. The municipality has plans to sell it at subsidized rates in the coming months.
Suchitwa Mission officials said that the success of the model had encouraged several civic bodies in the state to switch over to decentralized waste management. While 20 municipalities and 300 village panchayats have already launched the project, the others have started the process. A senior official said their target was to cover the entire state within the next two years.
The municipality also encountered resistance when aerobic plants were set up in the public places. The municipality solved this problem by beautifying the area around the aerobic units. The walls of the units were decorated with attractive paintings and converted some as parks and meeting places. One such park has now become a tourist attraction in the town.
However, the municipality officials are hopeful that they will be able to sustain the project since they have been able to bring about a behavioral change in the people. This will not only help maintain the city but also attract more tourists to the city.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/keralas-zero-waste-alappuzha-among-top-five-cities-in-un-list-to-successfully-manage-solid-waste-4236667.html
