The two-day workshop for urban local bodies organised by the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP) emphasised on the need for making units for collection, segregation and processing of solid waste sustainable and more efficient by adopting new designs and use of recycled materials within the space available.
The workshop, attended by elected representatives and implementation officers of urban local bodies of southern districts held extensive discussions on enhancing capacity of the solid waste management systems by going for smart, neat and clean solutions.
Minister for Local Self Government and Excise M B Rajesh inaugurated the workshop. People’s representatives from 87 municipalities and six corporations will be getting training as part of the workshop series. In the next phase, zonal workshops will be conducted in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode.
Innovative designs
Founder and Chairman of Habitat Technology Group and eminent architect G Shankar made pitch for adopting innovative designs for material collection facility (MCF) and resource recovery facility (RRF) for collection, segregation and processing of non-biodegradable waste management units. He suggested that such units could be created by mostly using recycled materials.
The workshop made a strong case for leveraging modern technology and equipment to enhance the capacity of the units within the available space since pressure on land was high in urban areas.
The participants at the workshop, which had presentations and interactions, said the waste management units should also have parking area, rest room and dressing room for workers, specific collection and segregation areas and rainwater harvesting system.
The two-day workshop concluded after a thorough look into the shortcomings in solid waste management in urban areas and how they could be improved and greater awareness built among citizens. The event set a platform for evolving a master plan by urban bodies for attaining sustainability in waste management.