Get set for a green match

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :  After the last T20 match in November, the compost produced from the organic solid waste generated at the match could be used as manure for the banana plantation at the corporation’s 75 cent land in Chenkottukonam. But it wasn’t an easy affair. From  flags and placards of fours and sixes that they waved while rooting for their team to the food waste, the crowd that thronged at the Sports Hub had left a dangerous litter trail.

The ordeal to sift through the piles of garbage and segregate took up one week’s time. “What would have otherwise taken just a day’s effort,” says Saiju S I, a junior health inspector, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. “This times match will witness even more waste amounting to four times of what was left after the last match,” he adds. So this time around, no stone is being left unturned to ensure a green match.

At the 40,000 Sports Hub which has 40,000 seating capacity, the corporation expects a humongous volume of garbage as an end result. To ensure segregation at source, a host of measures are being arranged. Colour coded waste bins will be kept to ensure segregation. “Even if it is just one article getting discarded carelessly, it will take an uphill task to sift through the waste and separate it. People don’t realise the painstaking effort involved in segregating the waste,” Saiju adds.

Green (bio-degradable) and blue (non-biodegradable) bins will be kept at strategic locations to avoid littering. Paper cups have been completely banned. “There is a misconception that paper cups are bio-degradable. In our country, we don’t have a proper mechanism to recycle paper cups. They will be replaced with steel glasses or bio-degradable ones,” says Saiju. The packaging of food materials will go for a complete overhaul. Multi-layer packaging is banned. Only compostable packaging will be used. 

Delightful food from prison
The ‘Food for Freedom’ team of the prisons will prepare delicacies of varied kinds for the match. Replete with snacks and biriyanis, the prison inmates are planning a grand feast for the spectators. The inmates of the Central Prison, and Women’s Open Prison in Poojappura, Women’s Prison, Attakulangara, among others will prepare food for the match. “Around 15 counters will be put up at the stadium. We are also trying to fashion out the bio-degradable packaging for the food,” said Vinod Kumar, superintendent, Central Prison.