App-based services add to waste mgmt woes
TNN | Jan 8, 2019, 22:42 ISTThiruvananthapuram: App-based food delivery services have added to corporation’s woes over plastic and disposables. While mayor V K Prasanth plans to hold a meeting with the service providers to put an end to use of disposables, officials point out that it won’t be an easy task.
While in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, some of the popular food delivery app providers offer solutions to restaurants for eco-friendly packaging like those made out of baggase and corn starch and even to customers a choice to opt out of use of cutlery, the same options have not caught up with either the buyers or the owners in the city.
Many of the restaurants even find it convenient to package food in banned plastic covers and hand it over to the delivery executives. ``What we need to do is to make two parties equally accountable in generation of waste. While plastic had been banned, the onset of food delivery apps has triggered return of plastic covers in some restaurants especially those which specialise in Arabic food. As of now the delivery executives are not bothered about the packaging, our aim is to ensure the participation of all stake holders in reducing use of single use plastic and disposable,'' said a health official.
Plastic waste contributes 74.61% of all types of non-biodegradable waste generated from each household in the city, as per a recent audit conducted by city corporation on generation of non-biodegradable waste in the city .
Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation has close to 2,50,000 households and going by this rate a total of 4242 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in the city in a year.
The officials say that only a very little percentage of this waste gets recycled or even collected in a scientific manner. The rest ends up in drains, roadsides and water bodies which has been the major challenge, health wing officials said.
It was found that average plastic waste generated per household per month is 1.414kg. Contribution of branded plastic packaging waste is estimated to be 57.26% of 4242 tonnes of plastic waste generated in a year from a household, ie., 2429 tonnes/year.
While in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, some of the popular food delivery app providers offer solutions to restaurants for eco-friendly packaging like those made out of baggase and corn starch and even to customers a choice to opt out of use of cutlery, the same options have not caught up with either the buyers or the owners in the city.
Many of the restaurants even find it convenient to package food in banned plastic covers and hand it over to the delivery executives. ``What we need to do is to make two parties equally accountable in generation of waste. While plastic had been banned, the onset of food delivery apps has triggered return of plastic covers in some restaurants especially those which specialise in Arabic food. As of now the delivery executives are not bothered about the packaging, our aim is to ensure the participation of all stake holders in reducing use of single use plastic and disposable,'' said a health official.
Plastic waste contributes 74.61% of all types of non-biodegradable waste generated from each household in the city, as per a recent audit conducted by city corporation on generation of non-biodegradable waste in the city .
Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation has close to 2,50,000 households and going by this rate a total of 4242 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in the city in a year.
The officials say that only a very little percentage of this waste gets recycled or even collected in a scientific manner. The rest ends up in drains, roadsides and water bodies which has been the major challenge, health wing officials said.
It was found that average plastic waste generated per household per month is 1.414kg. Contribution of branded plastic packaging waste is estimated to be 57.26% of 4242 tonnes of plastic waste generated in a year from a household, ie., 2429 tonnes/year.
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