Kerala State Pollution Control Board has directed the Thrikkakara municipality to ensure proper storage of the non-biodegradable waste at its material collection facility near the District Collectorate, Kakkanad.
The board made the recommendation after it found that open storage of waste is being done at the material collection facility. It will cause leachate flow in the rainy season. The Secretary of the civic body has to ensure that the waste should be stored in an enclosed shed, according to a report submitted by the board before the State Level Monitoring Committee on Solid Waste Management appointed by the National Green Tribunal.
Rashid Ullampilly, chairman of the municipality’s Health Standing Committee, said that immediate steps will be taken to ensure the proper storage of the waste at the material collection facility. We have improved the overall waste management scenario. However, the shortcoming detected by the board would be addressed without delay, he said. The board had termed the material collection and processing facility of the municipality as ‘satisfactory’, except the issue of open storage of the waste.
As per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, the local bodies have to set up material collection facilities and resource recovery facilities. The waste collected from households and commercial institutions should be stored in the material collection facility, which has to be implemented as per the norms. Waste should be not dumped in these facilities. The Haritha Karma Sena members and the workers engaged by the local bodies should be trained in segregating and storage of waste in a proper manner.
Despite getting a satisfactory rating for its material collection facility, the Thrikkakara municipality has not yet taken steps to comply with the directives issued by the board on the management of the biodegradable waste. The civic body is among the five municipalities in the district that continue to transport its biodegradable waste to the Kochi Corporation’s dump site in Brahmapuram.
