Page 40 - Plastics News Issue October 2025
P. 40
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
secondary transport of trash (the tipping fee) unit for waste management.
ends up promoting and maximising the collec-
tion and dumping of waste,” she says. “So, the According to the state government, in the last
cities invested in facilities, only to use those as one year, the 37,363-strong workforce has col-
dumping grounds, creating large trash moun- lected 140,000 tonnes of inorganic waste, which
tains at the city’s edges. Today, villages near is stored in material collection facilities and hand-
these dumps suffer tremendously from polluted ed over for recycling and processing via Clean
groundwater, foul odours, flies, and feral dogs. I Kerala Company, a government-run entity. Inor-
regret it and am now an advocate for decentral- ganic waste collection from homes increased
ised waste management.” from 47% in 2023 to 89% in 2025.
As a course correction, the revised 2016 SWM However, experts say rules are good as long
rules emphasised segregating wet and dry as they are implemented in full, while warning
waste at source, collecting and processing it lo- that any attempt to centralise waste process-
cally, and easing the waste burden on cities. In a ing by sidelining the informal sector would derail
step up, the draft SWM rules by the Union envi- reforms. “Also, the focus on EPR and waste-to-
ronment ministry, to be enforced soon, expand energy in the revised rules will require careful
source segregation from three categories (bio- execution to avoid unintended consequences,”
degradable, non-biodegradable, and domestic says Sambyal.
hazardous waste) to four categories: wet, dry,
sanitary, and special care waste. Barde says Kerala’s HKS is a sound model of en-
gaging with informal workers. “The HKS has the
My waste, my responsibility state’s backing to support its decisions, actions,
and enforcement measures. Particularly, the de-
Kerala’s decentralised model of managing waste centralised infrastructure for collection, which
locally draws heavily from people’s participation puts the onus on waste generators, is part of
and an army of waste workers who are well in- the design of the system. In contrast, SWaCH in
tegrated into the system. Waste segregation at Pune is a cooperative established by the PMC
the source is essential, and households are en- but operates independently. This means that the
couraged to use bio-composting bins to man- PMC can distance itself from any issues, while
age their organic waste. Similarly, aerobic com- SWaCH lacks the authority to make decisions or
posting units are in use for bulk generators. implement policy changes independently.”
To handle inorganic waste, Kerala constituted However, the HKS still demands better logistical
the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS), an army of waste support and integration with scrap dealers and
workers, mainly women from Kudumbashree, a plugging the existing gaps in waste segregation
state-run community network for poverty eradi- at source.
cation. They collect non-biodegradable waste
from homes for a user fee, mandated by law, Also, Kerala has 93 urban local bodies and 44
says an official from Suchitwa Mission, the de- legacy landfills, many located close to water
partment of local self-government’s technical bodies. In 2023, after a massive fire raged for
40 PLASTICS NEWS October 2025
