A Small Village in Kerala Shows the Way to Efficiently Manage Waste at the Local Level
In times when piling garbage and dump yards have become a grave issue, citizens of Edatheruvu village have been running a unique system for the last five years.
Edatheruvu, a small village near Palakkad in Kerala, has set an example in waste management with its initiative for collection, segregation and disposal of waste.
In times when piling garbage and dump yards have become a grave issue, citizens of Edatheruvu village have been running a unique system for the last five years.
They collect, segregate and dispose of waste in a scientific manner, involving as many as 160 households.
Image for representation only. Source: Facebook
How was it done?
According to a report by The Hindu, the initiative was started five years ago on a small scale. The villagers first started collecting waste every Sunday. Villagers would volunteer for the task on a rotational basis. To begin with, the waste was stored at the houses of the volunteers. Now, they have opened a waste-collection centre, where waste is collected under the supervision of citizen volunteers daily. They hand over the organic waste to the municipality and segregate and dispose of the solid waste.
They sell recyclable solid waste like old newspapers and empty bottles at the market. That helps them generate revenue to keep other activities going.
Also read: This Village in Maharashtra Used Its Plastic Waste To Solve Its Water Woes!
Further in the plans: organic farm!
The villagers now plan to set up an organic vegetable farm and a processing centre for garbage close to the collection centre. Once the processing centre is set up, the villagers wouldn’t be dependent on the municipality to dispose of the organic waste.
The organic manure made at the treating plant can be used to encourage organic farming in the village.
“Keeping solid waste at home for a week started causing difficulty to people here. So we thought of the daily collection centre, apart from the processing unit and organic vegetable cultivation. Two vacant plots extending over 54 cents in the village were utilised to initiate the project with the consent of the plot owners,” said K.C. Radhakrishnan, a senior police officer who initiated the project, told The Hindu.
The villagers dream of making Edatheruvu a self-reliant village that grows its own vegetables, and ensures cent per cent waste management without involving governmental agencies. The residents ran a collection drive to raise over Rs 2 lakh for the waste collection centre.
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