The Hindu Business Line : Garbage in, garbage out

Even as Kerala struggles with the task of containing communicable diseases such as chikungunya and dengue, much remains to be done in the area of garbage management.

In the early days of computing, before machines and software became more sophisticated and intelligent, there used to be a popular jargon in computer science - `Garbage In, Garbage Out', usually abbreviated to GIGO.

It was an aphorism that referred to the fact that computers, unlike human beings, will unquestioningly process the most ludicrous of input data and produce output that is equally, or even more, nonsensical.

As software-savvy Kerala struggles with the task of containing communicable diseases such as chikungunya and dengue, this aphorism from the computer era has become strangely appropriate. If you reap what you sow, then, clearly, if you litter and foul your surroundings, then the environment will strike back in the form of mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases - garbage in, garbage out.

For Kerala, once an apotheosis of community health and civic well-being, the main task these days is cleaning up garbage. Last week, October 13 was observed as `Clean Kerala Day', as part of the State Government's sanitation and anti-mosquito drive.

The campaign, launched in the wake of the spread of chikungunya viral fever, aims to create awareness among the State's residents of the need to keep their surroundings clean. The government hopes to rope in people from all walks of life to take part in the sanitation drive.

And the results seem to be paying off, even if a mite slowly. Last week, for instance, the Mayor of Kollam mooted the idea of a decentralised treatment of garbage through five or six medium-sized treatment plants. In the light of the experience of the cities of Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, where irate residents have vehemently opposed the centralised garbage treatment plants, this disaggregated approach seems to be the right way to go.

Only an inclusive and participatory attitude will work in the face of such civil opposition, which in itself is not confined to Kerala's vociferous citizens. In Goa, for instance, when the wall of a garbage dump in Curca, a village about 10 km from the capital Panaji, crashed after a deluge in 2005, militant villagers punctured the tyres and beat up the drivers of the municipality trucks that tried to sneak in to dump garbage. Local politicians were quick to convene village meetings to pass resolutions against the dumping of outside garbage in their villages.

Even in highly developed countries, garbage disposal in an emotive issue. In the United States, more than two-dozen community and civic groups came together in 1999 to address the growth of the waste industry in East Williamsburg and Greenpoint in New York City. They formed a coalition called OUTRAGE, the Organizations United for Trash Reduction and Garbage Equity.

The collective action in Kollam has inspired others. In Kannur, the Kadambur grama panchayat is roping in students, merchants, voluntary organisations, local clubs and environmental activists in a campaign to declare the village garbage-free. The total sanitation programme, which began on August 15, involves the formation of ward-level neighbourhood committees as well as household campaigns.

Some other recent developments also portend well for a Kerala free of garbage and pollution. On October 9, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told the Kerala Legislative Assembly that the Government would soon come out with a comprehensive law to prevent the sale of plastic bags less than 30 microns thick.

Not being biodegradable, plastic shopping bags comprise the main source of pollution in a consumer State such as Kerala, clogging up its waterways.

Elsewhere, the State government has identified a 50-acre plot at the Kochi Division of the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) Ltd for garbage processing and another facility for processing bio-medical waste at Kanjikode in Palakkad.

In the coir sector, too, anti-pollution efforts are on. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has asked entrepreneurs in the coir sector to stop retting of coconut husk fibre in water bodies, which pollute the water and destroys fish wealth. The Coir Board has developed technology to soften coconut fibre without retting, and the fibre imported from neighbouring States comes from raw husks chemically treated by machines, the Government points out.

These are laudable efforts, no doubt, since Kerala is in danger of losing its stature as a State that is clean and green, attributes that are crucial to its attractiveness as a destination for industry and tourists. Yet, much remains to be done in the area of garbage management: collection and disposal of refuse, primary separation at household level, establishing municipal rubbish sorting plants and salvage companies, tendering for street-cleaning and sanitary engineering equipment, incinerators and cremator plants for reducing wastes and extracting by-products for sale'

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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