Thiruvananthapuram: Littering habits of the city is changing for the better and for good, if the Onam celebration organised by tourism department in is any indication. Sample this. The waste bins kept on the premises of Kanakakkunnu Palace had waste in it, not around it. According to corporation’s health standing committee chairperson K. Sreekumar, people cooperated well. “The amount of plastic collected during the Onam celebrations would be less than 50 kg. During the Onam pageantry, the plastic collected was under 10 kg,” he says.
The corporation had made provisions to provide drinking water on the Onam pageantry route, to avoid the use of plastic. There were many other good signs. For example, the initiative for implementing Green Protocol, a brainchild of Suchitwa Mission, was not suggested by the mission this time. “Tourism director U. V. Jose had contacted us for help to implement Green Protocol. We offered the technical support,” says K. Vasuki, executive director, Suchitwa Mission.
This is the first time that tourism department has proactively taken a step to ensure green protocol. The Mission’s programme officer Ameersha R. S. says, “Suchitwa Mission had a greater involvement during National Games, the State School Kalotsavam and Attukal Pongala because we wanted to prove its efficacy. Now, other departments are approaching us to implement Green Protocol in their events.”
He notes a palpable difference in people’s attitude. “At the venues of Onam celebrations, we found that people segregated waste correctly. There were very few cases of food waste found in non-biodegradable waste bins,” he says. Two mobile aerobic units which could compost over 150 kg of waste were brought to the venues. The biodegradable waste was handled by agencies, involved in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s kitchen bin programme.
