KOZHIKODE: All 93 urban local bodies in Kerala will open swap shops on December 8 as part of statewide cleanliness drive, organised by the Suchitwa Mission to create awareness about proper waste conservation. One can bring the reusable products that are not useful to them but may be for another individual to swap shops or can obtain things which are useful for them free of cost. The Suchitwa Mission is aiming to increase usage of reusable items and thereby reducing wastage of usable items through this novel idea.
The cleanliness drive is part of the launch of Haritha Kerala Mission. The Suchitwa Mission has directed all municipal corporations and municipalities to set up drop facility centres to collect and store them from December 1. A team will also be constituted to assess the usability of the items received at the Centres. The swap shops will also follow green protocol by avoiding the use of plastics and maintain cleanliness on the shop premises.
Though they have made it mandatory for the municipalities, panchayats can also participate in the drive. The Suchitwa Mission is also launching a statewide survey covering 60 lakh houses for data collection for waste management. The tentative date to start the survey is December 7. The mission is planning to complete the survey in three days using mobile application technology. Voluntary organisations like NSS, Scouts and Guides, Kudumbashree, etc. will participate in the data collection.
