Thiruvananthapuram: Smelly garbage dumps dot various narrow streets of the Fort area, even though there is an aerobic bin facility with at least 20 bins at walkable distance. The facility was established a year ago, but few use the bins. Moreover kitchen bins don’t find takers here. BJP councillor V.G. Girikumar says, “Traditionally people who live in ‘agraharam’ structures in Fort area do not keep waste inside their homes. Earlier when they tried to introduce pipe composts, no one in Fort adopted it. Now kitchen bins will also not be accepted.”
There are no religious reasons for not keeping waste inside homes, according to H Ananthapadmanabhan, a priest who lives here. “However most homes here have no courtyard, no soil. We depend on an agency which collects waste from our home on alternate days," he said Most seemed to be unaware of the concept of kitchen bins. "We objected as most houses did not have soil to put the bin," said S Venkateswaram, a resident.
This despite various awareness campaigns. Corporation had conducted its Expo talking about various waste management options. There was also a meeting where residents’ association representatives were told about kitchen bins. Now the aerobic bin facility also takes plastic daily, which is a hit with the residents. Officials felt that the dumps would reduce now that the aerobic bin facility is open from 5 am to 9 pm. “Perhaps we need to campaign. The service is free,” says an official.
