Thiruvananthapuram: The agency which collects waste from 65 wards in the city takes it to Tamil Nadu and burns non-recyclable stuff in the open, according to its proprietor. Mr Mathivannan Pillai, who owns ‘No. 1 Support Service,’ told this newspaper that there was no problem burning waste in the 45-acre-land he owns near Tirunelveli as there are no houses nearby. “There is neither man nor animal living for at least 35 km in that stretch. I try and recycle plastic waste as much as possible. Only what is left would be burnt. If there is three tonnes of waste, only 0.75 tonne would be non-recyclable,” he said. Inorganic waste is collected once every week.
Meanwhile in Tirun-elveli, the district administration came to know of the agency bringing waste from Kerala To Nanguneri. Tirunelveli collector Sandeep Nanduri said, “The person who runs the agency claims that it is normal food waste. But we are not sure about the composition as the entire waste has been burnt now. The investigation is still on.” Among the 65 wards which depend on his services, there are ‘Suchitwa’ wards where kitchen bins were introduced long time ago. Ms Aisha Baker, an LDF councillor elected from Palayam ward, a Suchitwa ward, when asked about waste being burnt in Tamil Nadu, said, “Some houses in Palayam ward depend on the Tamil guy, but the fact that he burns waste must be false propaganda.”
Though the corporation has been campaigning for source-level waste management, many households have been reluctant to switch to kitchen bins. Corporation officials cite the presence of agencies like ‘No. 1’ collecting waste from households. However, they think putting a sudden stop to it might have negative effects. Mr Mathivannan said, “Stop my service and Thiruvananathapuram will be drowning in its waste.”
