Haritha Karma Sena members in Amballur panchayat in Ernakulam with the baled plastic waste ready for transportation to recycling units.
Effective processing of plastic waste to make it suitable for recyclers has helped a group of women in Amballur panchayat in Ernakulam district enhance their income.
The members of the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS), involved in the doorstep collection of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste, were able to earn an income of about โน4.8 lakh after selling around 30,490 kg of baled waste to recyclers over the last one year. Amballur panchayat, which had earned praise for achieving 100% coverage in offering the services of the HKS, has 32 green volunteers across its 16 wards.
As per estimates by the governmentโs Haritha Keralam Mission, the green warriors in Amballur figure on top among local bodies that had cashed in on the steady demand for classified plastic waste among recyclers. โThey had an income of about โน1.25 lakh through the sale of baled waste over the last two months,โ said Renjini S., district co-ordinator of Haritha Keralam Mission.
Sindhu, a member of the HKS involved in the process of sorting and classifying plastic waste, said they segregated it into eight types based on the quality and type of waste brought to the resource recovery facility, functioning in a building of the Mulanthuruthy block panchayat. โThose involved in the shredding and baling of plastic waste had received training on how to operate the unit as per the demands of the recyclers,โ she said.
A consortium comprising HKS representatives manages the income generated from the collection of user fee and earnings from the sale of segregated plastic waste. โWhile 10% of the earnings remain with the consortium, the remaining 90% of the revenue generated is divided among the green volunteers. A share of the income is also used to provide them festival bonus,โ said Rethnabhai K.T., resource person of Haritha Keralam Mission.
The agencies involved in the collection of the baled waste provide a fee varying between โน14 and โน20 for a kg as per the value of the segregated materials. The HKS members receive a monthly income of around โน15,000, according to official estimates.
