Change in Behaviour Necessary for Effective Waste Management: Workshop

KOCHI:
A training-cum-workshop has identified people’s faulty outlook as the major impediment to effective and meaningful waste management, saying that a positive behavioural change is necessary to make a clean society.

The workshop was organised by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) on Thursday as part of its Swachh Bharat campaign.

Instead of waste removal from their premises, a culture of proper waste management has to be inculcated within the society, said Dr D Girija, Emeritus Professor at the Kerala Agricultural University on the occasion.

“Careless dumping of plastics and other wastes is the result of an unresponsive attitude towards waste management. Many people are even careless in segregating bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste. People should understand that household management of kitchen wastes is their primary responsibility”, she said, adding that effective steps, including an awareness campaign, should be adopted to inculcate a proper waste management perception among the public.

Citing the poor practice of waste management in the cities, Dr Girija suggested effective composting methods such as smart biobin and thumboormuzhi aerobic composting as the practical methods suitable to city life. She further demonstrated the operation of the ‘KAU Smart Biobin’ developed by the Agricultural University.

CMFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Swachh Bharat Nodal Officer Dr N Aswathy, K Smitha and V K Sobha spoke on the occasion.