98.47% of local bodies in Kerala achieve waste-free status

Over 98% of local self-government bodies in Kerala achieve zero waste status, exceeding 80% progress in government guidelines.

As many as 98.47% of the local self-government bodies in the State and 97.96% of the wards have attained zero waste status by Sunday, Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh said here on Sunday. Out of the 1,034 local bodies in the State, 1,021 have attained the status by attaining 80% progress in the 13 guidelines issued by the State government.

As part of the Malinya Muktham Navakeralam campaign, the government had set March 30 as the deadline for attaining the status to coincide with the International Day of Zero Waste.

All the local bodies in the districts of Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod attained waste-free status. Doorstep collection of non-biodegradable waste by Haritha Karma Sena workers now reach 96% of the households and commercial institutions in the State. At the beginning of the campaign in March 2023, this number was at 47%, said Mr. Rajesh.

The number of mini material collection facilities have increased from 7,446 to 19,721. The amount of non-biodegradable waste being handled by the Clean Kerala company has increased from 30,217 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes. Thirty-five rendering plants have been set up to process chicken waste.