Thiruvananthapuram | Despite having a decentralised waste management mechanism, Kerala's waste worries are far from addressed due to insufficient infrastructure, underutilisation of existing facilities and deficient pollution monitoring, as per a report released on Friday by two environment experts.
According to the report -- "Choking on Toxic Smoke - the Brahmapuram Garbage Disaster in Kochi and Municipal Solid Waste Management in Kerala -- by M Suchitra, an environmental journalist, and C Surendranath, a waste management expert, the southern state urgently needs to reassess its waste management practices.
The report states that the reassessment is critical in light of Kerala's rapid urbanisation, increasing waste generation, environmental degradation and geographical-climate vulnerabilities and its necessity was highlighted by the Brahampuram fire disaster of March 2023.
The fire at the waste dump in Kochi's Brahmapuram on March 2, 2023 burned up around 8 lakh tonnes of unsegregated garbage, resulting in the city being engulfed in smoke for 12 days, it said.
"Scientific analyses indicated alarming levels of pollutants. Yet, no comprehensive study on the impact of the chemicals on human health and the environment has been done so far," it claimed.
The report states that Kerala's waste management policy stresses upon a healthy, resource-efficient society focused on reducing, reusing, and recycling waste, with a strong commitment to decentralised waste management.
"Despite the elaborate decentralised waste management mechanism set up in the state, audits have revealed deficiencies such as insufficient infrastructure, under-utilisation of existing facilities, inadequate segregation, collection, sorting and disposal of waste, poor fund utilisation, lack of detailed waste management plans and by-laws at the local body level and deficient pollution monitoring," it said.
Following the fire disaster, the state government undertook various initiatives to improve waste segregation at source and enhance door-to-door collection of garbage and its disposal, the report said.
However, there are still significant challenges faced by the waste management system and a major one among them is the "absence of reliable data regarding fundamental aspects, such as waste quantity and composition", it said.
According to official data, municipal waste generation in Kerala is stagnant at 3.7 million tonnes since 2017 despite its rapid urban growth, it said.
Besides lack of reliable data, the other problems are plastic pollution, inadequate compliance with the E-Waste (Management) Rules of 2016, under-implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, shifting of its non-biodegradable waste burden to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, climate change implications and use of unsustainable Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plants.
The report calls for "reimagining" the relationship between the environment and development in the state for creating a sustainable and equitable society.
"Effective waste management is a critical area where Kerala's aspirations for a zero-waste environment often collide with its neoliberal growth trajectory, marked by a relentless pursuit of large-scale and rapid infrastructure development.
"By addressing these challenges, Kerala can pave the way for a more sustainable future, ensuring that development aligns harmoniously with environmental preservation and social justice," it said.