Ernakulam is the highest user of shredded plastic for tarring

KOCHI: Local bodies have been supplying shredded plastic for road laying for the last few years. According to the data available with Clean Kerala , 574.379 metric tonnes of shredded plastic was supplied till June 31, 2019. It had a stock of shredded plastic of 204.40 metric tonnes as on June 31.

Kochi corporation continues to be the largest supplier of plastic for shredding with 74,375 Kg followed by Thiruvananthapuram corporation with 38,071 Kg according to the Clean Kerala figures.

Ernakulam district continues to the highest user of shredded plastic for tarring followed by Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad .

According to Suchitwa mission officials, almost 70 percent of the local bodies have set up different collection facilities to address the issue of plastic waste. “We work as the forward and backward linkages between Clean Kerala, LSGDs and companies looking for recyclable plastic. We also ensure the proper recycling and reuse of the plastic,” said Philip P D, director-operations, Suchitwa Mission.

As of now, a total of 1089 material collection facilities (MRF) are functioning in local bodies including corporations, municipalities and grama panchayats. A MRF is a centre where the non-compostable solid waste can be temporarily stored for segregation, sorting and recovery. Similarly, a total of 113 resource recovery facility centres (RFC) are functioning in LSGD in the state.

Meanwhile, several organizations have already tied up with firms in other states for collection and recycling of plastic. For eg, the Sign Printers industries association of Kerala ( SPIA ) which faced the flak for its flex boards had initially set up small plastic shredding units to crush the flex prints into small papers and send it for recycling to units outside Kerala. “We have a company in Uttarakhand which comes and collects the flex boards from here, pays us for it and takes it away for recycling,” said Alex Michael, secretary, Ernakulam chapter.

Environmentalist C M Joy expressed doubts that this shredded plastic is not being used in roads. “We can see the effect of plastic used in Tamil Nadu because most of their roads are in good condition. This plastic can also be used for making road milestones and sign boards for directions.