Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram’s decentralised waste management system will be the opening story of a Brazilian website on sustainability. Caroline Oms, a freelance journalist, is in town to write a story on the city’s choice of composting waste at the source. “I am here because there are not too many examples of big cities with decentralised waste management systems,” she says.
She lives in Delhi. “People throw waste on the side of the road there. I have also been to Ladakh, where tourists are responsible for littering. If they think that the mountain is beautiful, why would they desecrate it?” she asks.
But Thiruvananthapuram’s waste management story is incomplete without a mention of Vilappil panchayath. That’s where she was on Wednesday, asking residents about the history of the agitation. “This may not be the first time that a tiny populace stood against a big city, but a small entity winning in the end is unusual,” she says.
She is amazed that many people have started composting at their homes. “There are two sides to solving the waste management issue. The individual would say that it is not their responsibility, but that of the government. Or the government would say, we are doing what we can, but people are not doing anything. Here, both the government and individuals are doing their part,” she says.
She says that while someone opting for greener mechanisms is wonderful, they should not stop at that, and should work on convincing others. She convinced her husband to recycle. “Well, I am not a very organized person. My husband told me he would recycle, if I become organised. I struck a deal,” she says.
The story, which will also cover the state’s Haritha Keralam Mission programme, will be the launch story of ‘Believe.Earth’, a website supported by the American organisation Alana’s Foundation.
