The Green Kerala Mission has constituted a non-biodegradable waste collection calendar for Ernakulam district on the basis of which a training programme has been launched under the aegis of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration for members of Haritha Kerala Mission (Green Kerala Mission), Sushitwa Mission (Clean Kerala Mission), Clean Kerala Company, and Kudumbashree.
The focus of the training programme, launched in Chottanikkara panchayat initially, is on collection of non-biodegradable waste materials, segregation, and safe disposal in the backdrop of the pandemic, said an official on Saturday.
The calendar issued for the training programme says that plastic materials, including plastic covers and paper, will be collected every month. Footware and bags will be collected in the months of January, April, July, and October.
Collection of glass materials, including bottles and other discards, will be done in the months of February, May, August, and November.
Collection of e-waste materials, comprising tube lights, CFL lamps, and batteries, will be done in the months of March, June, and December. Medicines and medicine strips will be collected in March, June, and December, and cloth materials will be collected in April and September.
The training is being offered with a view to begin and regularise the practice of collection of waste materials by the Haritha Karma Sena (Green Army), their segregation at the primary level and the transfer of materials to Clean Kerala Company on a commercial basis, the official said.
One of the objectives of the programme is to ensure economy of transport and handling.
In the past, various local bodies in the district had launched their own initiatives for collection of non-biodegradable waste. But collection has not been regular.
It is expected that by October 9, the training programme will be extended to all local self-government bodies in Ernakulam district, which have formed the Green Army.
Meanwhile, Mulavukad panchayat has launched a programme to collect bottles of all kinds with the help of collection bins kept across the panchayat. Thirteen bins have been set up, and bottles can be deposited in them. The programme is undertaken in cooperation with Sushitwa Mission and the Green Kerala Mission.