Suresh Kumar from Nehru Trophy ward in Alappuzha municipality is so proud to collect plastic garbage floating on Vembanad Lake and make a living by selling it to recycling firms.
The 58-year-old man ventures out to the waterbody on a small fibre boat twice a day and returns with a melange of trash, including plastic bottles and sachets, glass beer bottles, containers and so on. “I have a lot of free time and what I am doing is a small effort to reduce plastic pollution in this part of the lake. In a sense, I am doing a service but also make a living out of it,” says Mr. Kumar.
A good swimmer, he started collecting plastic and other floating garbage three years ago. “I had done different kinds of jobs, including the job of headload worker, in my life. A few years ago, after encountering a serious health issue, I began collecting plastic waste and other stuff floating on the water every morning and evening. Mostly I collect the waste in and around Punnamada (the hub of houseboat tourism),” says Mr. Kumar.
