How is Kerala handling its waste problem?

The Hindu

12-05-2025

The story so far:
Since October 2, 2024, Kerala has been aggressively advocating its latest campaign — 'Vruthi'. Meaning cleanliness of the body and mind, this campaign has involved everyone from all levels, from the Chief Minister and Malayalam film stars to school children, local self-government representatives, bureaucrats, and sanitation workers. In a five-day conclave, titled 'Vruthi 2025: The Clean Kerala Conclave' held at Thiruvananthapuram recently, in which around 25,000 people participated, it was stated by the Local Self-Government Minister that the State had reached formidable success in waste collection from houses — around 75% of houses have been reached, which was just 40% till a year back.
Why was this campaign necessary?
The State of Kerala has achieved a certain standard of hygiene, thanks to the various developmental factors associated with the State in the course of history.
In the early days, the waste generated from consumption (mostly organic) would mostly be put to use in the backyard of the same house (for example, as manure). However, post liberalisation, the materiality of production and consumption changed significantly. Kerala, being a rapidly urbanising society, both spatially and temporally, where the share of agriculture in the State's GDP is less than 10%, consumer behaviour also changed exponentially to market-driven products. The materiality of these new products led to a situation where, not only did the waste generated increase manifold, it also could not be disposed of or absorbed in the backyard. Hence, it started spreading within neighbourhoods and localities.
A senior bureaucrat, who is part of the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project (KSWMP), stated that during the UPSC interview, the foremost issue that she said she wanted to resolve, being head of the district, was waste management. While this was over a decade ago, she observed that this continues to be the foremost issue that many UPSC aspirants want to tackle. It is against this background that collective voices have now started emerging.
It is also to be noted that the basic principles of urban planning in the 17th and 18th centuries emerged and evolved due to a health epidemic — the plague in England. Health continues to be an important driver for urban reforms and hence, the Vruthi campaign is the need of the hour.
What is being done?
When the State government realised that the spirit of personal hygiene had not translated into clean and hygienic public spaces, a high-decibel campaign along with strategic and context-specific interventions was planned by local governments to make Kerala garbage-free. The campaign was titled 'Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam' (waste-free Kerala), connecting all key stakeholders and agencies working in the domain of waste management.
Recent episodes of the drowning of a corporation sanitary worker in the Amayizhanjan canal at Thiruvananthapuram, along with increasing dog bites, and frequent outbreaks of Zoonotic diseases in the State, has brought all levels of administration and various sectoral agencies to engage and collaborate with their respective local self-governments. The need for clean and hygienic public spaces was understood as an imperative for healthy living in the State.
While the Kerala government mobilised all key stakeholders, the larger civil society also helped in unlocking many unexplored pathways for this endeavour. These included strengthening the Haritha Karmasena, local government functionaries, locality-based campaigns, art and cultural activities, encouraging a competitive approach within local governments to achieve a 100% garbage-free status, and engaging children, youth, schools, colleges and various voluntary groups.
How is it different from the Swachh Bharat Mission?
The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 1.0 and 2.0 are top-to-bottom mission modes for both rural and urban India. The SBM follows a framework where people at the top level decide how many toilets should be built, how many sewage treatment plants should be constructed, how many waste treatment plants should be sanctioned etc. It was and continues to be a supply-driven chain where cities try to fit themselves in that particular framework.
The Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam campaign, on the other hand, is primarily for behavioural change, where massive participation of the people is needed and ensured through various exercises. Moreover, the Vruthi conclave was not speaking the language of a particular technology and was thus technology neutral. It gave importance mainly to decentralised solutions, while also giving back some positive features of centralised solutions. From the 'Black Soldier Fly' to 'Windrow Composting', the conclave was a platform for cities to customise themselves and decide what solutions are best adapted to them.
Are centralised or decentralised solutions better?
Moving away from the binary of centralised and decentralised form of governance in managing waste, the conclave emphasised lessons learnt from both the successes and failures of centralised and decentralised solutions. There are stories where centralised solutions were a great success — for example, the Guruvayur Municipality's waste treatment. However, it was the mismanagement of centralised systems that led to the failure of waste management initiatives in Kochi, as was evident in the infamous Brahmapuram fires of 2023. Likewise, the successes of decentralised solutions were also discussed. It was stated that this year there has been a phenomenal jump in allocation from the State government to local self-governments for waste management. However, the same could not be effectively deployed owing to huge gaps in their capacities. The Kerala Urban Policy Commission has recommended that professionalisation of services is a key driver for attaining success in urban governance, including waste management.
What lies ahead?
As of now, while there is a visible change, the pattern continues to be linear. The current campaign is driven by the State government owing to the reasons discussed above. The moment the State government withdraws from it, will the trajectory continue in the same direction? This is a question that needs to be evaluated.
Additionally, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws need to be strengthened in the country. These laws shift the responsibility of managing a product's waste to the producer, rather than the local government or consumer.
There is also a need to break the current inertia in society; a behavioural change is of utmost importance. 'My waste, my responsibility', is the current slogan coined by the State and this should reach down to every level of governance and structures, including families.
Is building collectives important?
People's collectives have been built at various levels. This would include institutions such as schools, business enterprises, residents' welfare associations, workers' associations etc. Such collectives need to be brought on board the campaign for it to succeed effectively.
Kerala has consistently ranked first in the country on indices relating to human and sustainable development and is currently at crossroads on managing its waste. The way in which it would manage its waste problem, with an open mind and drawing on a large canvas, incorporating worldwide changes, will pave the way for a cleaner and healthier Kerala, which can be a shining model of a new age urban society, not just for the State but for the entire country.
Tikender Singh Panwar is former deputy mayor of Shimla, and member of the Kerala Urban Commission. Ajith Kaliyath is chair and an urban professor at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). Rajesh. K is a senior urban fellow at KILA.