Kerala to utilise plastic waste from sea for road tarring

Plastic waste collected from the sea and backwaters will be used to lay roads for the first time in Kerala. The plastic was collected under the ‘Suchitwa Sagaram’ project of the state government for tarring the St John De Britto Church road at Sakthikulangara in Kollam. Tenders have been invited for the work on the 1.3-km road. The work will be carried out by the harbour engineering department. The road is under the fisheries department.

Suchitwa Sagaram project was launched considering the major threat posed by plastic waste to the marine ecosystem. It was implemented at Neendakara and Sakthikulangara harbours by fisheries department, harbour engineering department, Suchitwa Mission, SAF, central government agency NETFISH, and Kollam district boat owners’ association. Plastic was collected from Ashtamudi Lake also.

Fishing workers were given bags to collect plastic wastes. They brought plastic items caught in nets and also collected old nets which used to be thrown away in the waters. So far, the fishermen have brought ashore 12 tonnes of plastic. About 7.50 tonnes have been crushed and stored in packets, which will be used for road work. Fisheries department officials told Onmanorama that the project would be extended to other districts also, considering its success in Kollam. The plastic wastes brought by fishing boats at Neendakara were processed at the plant in Sakthikulangara. A 25-member Kudumbashree team was in charge of sorting the garbage and cleaning it. They were earlier given training for the purpose. Now the authorities are planning to install a machine for cleaning and drying the plastic waste.

Though it has met with success, the authorities said that some problems still exist regarding the project. Till four months ago, the fishing boats used to regularly bring plastics; however, few boats do that now. Moreover, the trawling ban and non-cooperation by fishing workers are posing problems. Demands have been raised by fishermen for remuneration to bring the plastic. Authorities said the matter was being actively considered by the government.

According to government records, there are 10.20 lakh fishing workers in the state, of whom 2.39 lakh are actively involved in fishing.