The Times of India 14.12.2013
Kannur to get rid of plastic waste soon
KANNUR: The Kannur municipality is launching a new project, Susthira-2014, to make the municipality plastic waste free within one month.
"We know that we cannot make the place plastic free by just banning it, because such moves have never succeeded in any part of the country, and hence we are launching a programme to collect the plastic and use it for recycling with the support of the residents as well as business community," said municipal chairperson Roshni Khalid at a press conference on Friday.
Under Susthira-2014, launched with the support of KISAN, an organization to promote agriculture and preserve the municipality, Kannur will be declared plastic free by January 26, 2014.
And in the next phase the municipality will be made waste-free by implementing schemes to process the waste at the source itself.
"Since no project can succeed without people's participation, we will sensitize the people and collection centres will be set up in different places to collect the plastic waste that will be sent to recycling units," she said.
Though the plastic carry bags below 40-micron thickness are banned in the state, such bags are still in use and all the shops will be asked to ensure that such bags are not used in the coming days, as these bags cannot be recycled.
The traders have promised that such bags will not be in use from January 1, said the chairperson, who added that the resource persons are being trained for the success of the scheme. In order to reduce the use of plastic, alternative materials like cotton bags will also be made available.
In the second phase the disposal of the wastes at the source will be promoted so that the wastes dumped in the trenching ground will be reduced to a minimum, said municipal vice-chairman T O Mohanan.
"Our aim is to make the municipality waste free through people's participation and not just a declaration; the very concept of Susthira has been formulated on the basis of that philosophy only," he said.
