One of the most difficult challenges local governments confront when it comes to waste management is the disposal of slaughterhouse and poultry waste.
Kannur will not have to deal with the issue for long. The district is on its way to being the first in the state to be designated as a "poultry waste-free district."
A joint project between the Haritha Keralam Mission (HKM), the Suchithwa Mission, and the district administration is set to build rendering plants throughout the district to deal with poultry waste has been resurrected and is to begin operating soon. In January 2022, an official announcement is expected.
"The diabolical influence of the waste mafia is the principal reason for uncontrolled dumping of slaughterhouse waste in rivers, canals, and abandoned lands. They gather garbage from chicken shops and other slaughterhouses and dump it wherever they like " Dr. P V Mohanan, the project coordinator for the establishment of rendering factories, claimed as much.
"It's a gold mine for the mafia. On a daily basis, the district produces about 45 tonnes of slaughterhouse waste. The mafia charges Rs 7 per kg to collect it from each shop. The amount of rubbish generated during festivals increases, and the mafia raises the pickup price to Rs 12- Rs 15, depending on the festival "he stated.
Because the practice was causing local governments issues by polluting rivers and waterbodies, the government began planning a programme to handle trash generated by slaughterhouses. The concept of setting up rendering plants was offered by Mohanan, a retired assistant director of the animal husbandry department. He was tasked with organizing the project after the idea was adopted.
The project was launched, and two rendering facilities were built in the district: one in Pappinisserry, which can handle nine tonnes of garbage each day, and another in Mattannur, which can handle 35 tonnes. However, because of a lack of collaboration between slaughterhouse owners and local authorities, the mafia was able to sabotage the initiative in its early stages, according to Mohanan.
After the initial attempt failed, the government decided to take action and compelled local governments to form partnerships with rendering plants. District Collector S Chandrasekhar has been appointed as the chairman of a district-level monitoring committee.
Following the district administration's forceful intervention, the rendering facility at Mattannur has signed a deal with 55 panchayats and seven municipalities in the district.
"Once the initiative is operational, we will be able to control the illicit collecting of poultry waste from slaughterhouses," said E K Somasekharan, HKM district coordinator.
Transportation of trash to other districts and states, according to Mohanan, should be prohibited. "Chicken shops and slaughterhouses that refuse to hand over their trash to the rendering factory would have their licences revoked," he warned, adding that the private agency in charge of the plant will be able to levy a fee from each chicken shop and slaughterhouse where waste is collected.
According to Somasekharan, the collected trash would be recycled at the plants, and the recycled output will be used as fish meal.
On the initiative, the HKM and Suchithwa Mission will collaborate to provide a training camp for chicken stall and slaughterhouse operators. The government has finalised the project's implementation guidelines.
"Once the initiative is operational, Kannur will be the state's and possibly the country's first poultry waste-free district," said Mohanan.
