Collecting the waste and disposing it in the proper manner has now become a matter of great concern in Kerala. Since the increasing waste problem is a result of the developmental process and growth, there won’t be a different opinion for anyone regarding this. We can approach the waste disposal procedure by taking into consideration the peculiarities of Kerala.
The waste disposal procedure is associated with the increased population, urbanization, climate etc. A new cleanliness policy has to be developed for Kerala by considering all these facts. The native municipal institutions are following some waste management procedures according to their tactics. But there are experiences that prove some defects in these activities. The methods that were followed for waste management, has now come under wide discussions and disputes due to the problems in Vilappilshala, Brahmapuram and Lalur. Usually the medias present this as a problem between villages and towns. This kind of approach worsens the situation and never paves a way to find a solution to this problem. All the sections must come together and find a solution together, rather than creating all such problems.
As a result of the nonfunctioning of the Vilappilshala plant, the Thiruvananthapuram municipality has started searching easy as well as cheap waste disposal methods that could dispose the waste in the place of its origin itself. For this they have decided to widen the use of methods like biogas plants, vermi composts, ring compost etc. In order to widen these methods the native municipal institutions have to follow some rules.
In order to build waste disposal units, the native municipal department has to examine the technical adequacy and confirm whether it is usable. Any of the above mentioned methods can be built only through accredited agencies or service providers. For these convenient rules from government are also required. The difficulties in handling vermin compost and the indifference shown by service providers towards constructing 500 liters and 1000 liters biogas plants that can be used in houses at the rate instructed by the state government has made such methods difficult to be implemented. A quick solution for this problem has now become very important for the town corporation.
The technical committee and the representatives of the people of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation are conducting incessant discussions and meetings to find a solution to the waste disposal problem. It was at this time that a pipe composting method in a house of Chettivilakam ward of Thiruvananthapuram town came into notice. The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation mayor and the technical committee members of the town corporation tried to find out more about this method and came to a conclusion that the method followed by them can be easily followed. The average amount of waste produced by a person in Thiruvananthapuram town per day is 400 grams. Two kilograms of waste is produced in a house of four or five members. Since the pipe composting unit was found to be very effective, simple and cheap the town corporation decided to establish such composting units extensively. The house of Chandrika and Ravindran Nair in Chettivilakam ward is situated in a five cent area. The terrace and area surrounding the house is filled with all types of vegetables and fruits. This house is using the concrete pipe unit for the last three years where the manure essential for all these plants are required from the house hold waste. Pipe composting method is similar to the ring composting method. Chandrika and Ravindran Nair had started using this method coincidently. There was a concrete pipe lying in their courtyard. They selected it to dump the house hold wastes so that there won’t be any flies or bad smell. They continued it daily by covering it with a lid. When the pipe gets filled they covered it again by putting some lime. Since there were only two members it used to take 90 days for the pipe to get filled. Then they used to use another pipe for the purpose and the waste in the first pipe turned into manure. It doesn’t need 90 days for the waste to turn into manure. Only 30-40 days is required for it. While taking the manure out of the pipe, put it in the sunshine for sometime. The town corporation unit has decided to provide EM Solution to those houses where such a unit is used. This solution that has to be sprinkled into the pipe occasionally will make the decomposing process much easier. This task can be done with the help of the Kudambasree agent. When pipe composting will become wide, the houses will start getting manure also. If agriculture is done in the yard of the house, this manure can be used for it. The benefits of this unit are to minimize the flies, bad smell etc and also to produce manure. It is very cheap and simple to handle.
The domestic sector can be considered the main source of the waste in Thiruvananthapuram Town Corporation. The trade centers, hospitals, hotels, markets, building blocks etc are the other sources. 20 tons of waste is produced in the markets of the town daily. The residues of building constructions come to about 13 tons per day. The waste other than bio chemical waste from hospitals is about 10 tons. It is estimated that the waste accumulated is 7.5 tons in ditches, 20 tons in hotels, 25 tons in trading centers, 3 tons in slaughterhouses, 4 tons in schools per day. The domestic waste is about 150 tons. It is expected by the town corporation that about half the solution to this waste disposal problem could be found if such pipe composts are established in all the houses of the town. The steps to construct waste disposal schemes in markets, schools and such public places have already started. It would also be checked whether there are waste disposal plants in hotels, restaurants, flats, institutes etc. The town corporation has also decided to find a new method for plastic disposal.
The more developments paved the way for a dirty Kerala. The Thiruvanathapuram town corporation tried hard and at last found an easy and inexpensive method for handling the house hold wastes. Soon this pipe composting method will be made common and thus a solution would be found for the grave problem of waste.
