Thiruvananthapuram, July 8 (IANS) An ambitious river cleaning programme that has quietly transformed the way plastic waste is intercepted in the Kerala capital has crossed a major milestone, with more than 1,000 tonnes of plastic waste recovered from Thiruvananthapuram’s rivers and canals over the past four years before it could flow into the Arabian Sea.

The achievement, equivalent to removing nearly 50 million plastic bottles from the city’s waterways, is being seen as a demonstration of how sustained intervention, backed by technology and scientific waste management, can address one of the most pressing environmental challenges confronting urban Kerala.

Besides reducing plastic pollution, the initiative has helped clear waterways that frequently contribute to urban flooding during the monsoon while improving the ecological health of rivers that eventually empty into the sea.

At the heart of the programme is a network of 15 floating TrashBoom barriers installed across key waterways that crosses in the state capital city.

The barriers trap floating plastic every day, after which the waste is transported to material recovery facilities for segregation.

Recyclable plastic is repurposed locally while non-recyclable material is sent for co-processing in cement plants, ensuring that very little ends up in landfills.

Implemented by some tech companies and others besides others using technology developed by Germany-based Plastic Fischer, the project has been funded through CSR initiatives since its launch in 2022.

Industries, IT, AI and Startups Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty said the achievement reflected Kerala’s ability to combine industrial growth with environmental stewardship.

“Global Capability Centres in Kerala are not merely engines of economic growth; they are responsible corporate citizens who invest in the communities and ecosystems that sustain them. This milestone reinforces a powerful message to global investors that Kerala’s industrial growth is inseparable from its commitment to environmental excellence,” he said.

Water Resources Minister Mons Joseph described the project as a model worthy of replication because of its sustained and systematic approach rather than one-time clean-up drives.

“I urge corporates, local bodies and citizens alike to draw inspiration from this model,” he said.

Local Self Government Minister K.M. Shaji called upon panchayats, municipalities and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to deepen collaboration with initiatives of this nature to strengthen waste management at the grassroots.

The project assumes significance against the backdrop of studies showing that nearly 79 per cent of debris along Thiruvananthapuram’s waterways is plastic, with the Karamana and Killi rivers recording some of the highest microplastic concentrations in the region.

Having earned recognition under the UN Ocean Decade, the model pioneered in the state capital is now being replicated in several Indian cities, highlighting its potential as a scalable solution to tackling plastic pollution in urban waterways.

–IANS

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