THRISSUR: Some district units of Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad are planning 'Flex Bank' to promote their reuse. They will collect used flex sheets to convert them into grow bags and for other purposes to reduce the hazardous material waste.
The Parishad fear the pollution caused by burning or dumping in water bodies of PVC material after the FIFA World Cup to worsen the situation.
The football fans have erected flex boards of their favourite teams through the length and breadth of the state. "Alappuzha district unit has already started collecting them with the help of two NGOs, Canalpy and Spero.
They have already come up with a poster campaign on social media with the contact numbers of the Flex Bank," Swathi Lakshmy, Alappuzha Town Unit president, said. In Thrissur, Parishad's environment committee is planning a similar scheme.
'Not a proper solution'
AAP leader and environmental activist, C R Neelakandan, said such an initiative could not solve the pollution of soil and water. "To whatever form it gets converted during reuse, the polluting elements in flex finally end up in water as they broke into pieces," he said.
"The only solution is to store used materials in isolated places that they do not come into contact with soil and water. The ideal way to address the menace will be a ban on flex." Though the Kerala cabinet decided to ban flex boards in 2014 and removed illegal hoardings, the menace continued to play havoc on the state's fragile ecosystem.
