The proposed solid waste treatment plant will adopt incineration method

The proposed solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram capable of processing 500 tonnes of waste material daily will adopt the waste-to-energy technology model based on the incineration method. Work on the Rs. 350 crore plant is expected to begin soon. A final decision on the company that would implement the project will be taken on Monday. The waste-to-energy technology is expected to provide help in converting the non-recyclable and combustible portion of the waste to electricity. It will also reduce the amount of material sent to landfills besides preventing contamination of air and water.

Soaring mercury levels may trigger more incidents of human-animal conflicts, it is feared.

Forest fires and the reduced availability of fodder and drinking water may force wild animals out of their territories. They may venture into human habitations in search of water and food, according to wildlife authorities. E.A. Jayson, head of the Wildlife Division of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, said that conflicts in each area would be influenced by a host of local factors such as availability of food and water and proximity to forest area.

Bank’s pre-appraisal mission says worrying increases in cost estimates need serious review

The World Bank has expressed reservation on the ‘slow progress’ in completing acquisition of the remaining land needed for the second phase of the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) that aims at world-class development of 367 km of State highways. The pre-appraisal mission led by World Bank senior transport economist Simon D. Ellis, who was in the State recently to review the project, said the “progress on land acquisition which has not progressed since the last mission and the worrying increases in cost estimates need serious review.”

Waste-free Maradu’, an ambitious programme to free the municipal area of waste heaped on the roadside and curb unsustainable waste disposal practices has ended up drawing a lot of flak from residents. However, the municipal authority has defended its programmes, launched about a year ago.

The municipal authority’s pipe compost, bio-gas and soon-to-be-launched bio-pots programmes are aimed at getting rid of waste generated by households and business establishments in a sustainable manner.

People affected by pollution from small-scale plywood industries in Perumbavoor have declared a war of sorts.

After petitions and rallies failed to evoke the desired result the residents formed a samithi and started a satyagraha in the true Gandhian way, about two months ago. At present, one of their representatives is on a ‘fast unto death’ in front of the collectorate. The core issue is that the industrial units are scattered around residential areas. They spew fumes into the air that settle down in the wells nearby. The fumes also cause suffocation. Water bodies are polluted when untreated effluents from many units are discharged into them.

The green concept by the firm has a larger goal of addressing issues like energy conservation

How about earning credit points for using public transport that besides promoting go-green initiatives makes one’s travel and shopping cheaper? If everything falls in place, this will be a reality from January for lakhs of commuters using public transport daily.

Initially, 15,000 litres will be treated a day for which a cost effective technology has been developed.

The State government has on Wednesday given in-principle approval to the district administration’s proposal to treat the water accumulated in abandoned stone quarries and distribute it as drinking water using the reverse osmosis technology. A meeting to discuss the proposal in detail will be held towards the end of this month, District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareed told The Hindu after meeting Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash. Fund for the project has been sought from the drought relief fund.

Greens have again locked horns with the State Pollution Control Board here over the alleged pollution of Periyar waters.

Environmentalists on Wednesday alleged that the board officials at the environment surveillance centre in Eloor failed to collect samples from near Edayar where discolouration of the river was reported on Tuesday. Purushan Eloor, spokesperson of the Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithi, said the board officials refused to collect the samples stating that there was only a patch of white discharge near the region close to Merchem company. We had alerted the board officials immediately after detecting the discolouration but they were late to reach the site, he said.

Councillors of Eloor municipality on Tuesday laid siege to the environment surveillance centre of the State Pollution Control Board at Eloor. The protest was to press for their demands including action against the public-sector Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. (HIL) for allegedly dumping chemical effluents in to the Kuzhikandam creek.

Municipal authorities had issued a notice to the HIL management on Monday directing them to remove the outlet carrying effluents into the creek. The notice was issued after residents complained that the dumping had triggered a foul smell in the region.