**************************************** For more information/links, see http://goanet.netfirms.com ****************************************
PLASTIC BURIES GOA'S COUNTRYSIDE UNDER LOAD OF LITTER >From Pamela D'Mello Panaji, Feb 19: Tourist brochures declare it an emerald paradise, but fluttering polythene and the ubiquitous plastic bottles littering the state's countryside bespeak a mounting problem. In a bid to control the menace, authorities have declared a ban on the sale of polythene bags below 40 microns, declared some plastic free zones and recently contracted out waste plastic collection from the state's highways. But NGOs insist that much more needs to be done. They want three multinational mineral water and soft drink companies resposible for distrubuting 50 % of all PET bottles in the state, to fund a recollection and crushing programme. "We estimate it would cost the companies a mere Rs 3 lakh annually, but they are not cooperating" complains Dr Claude Alvares of the Goa Foundation. Plastic bottle usage has escalated with tourism bringing in 14 lakh annual visitors in addition to the consumption patterns of its equal number of residents. NGO led campaigns to clear beaches of plastic litter, a solitary crushing and collection centre still fall far short of an effective solution. Meanwhile, growing urbanisation is also turning garbage management into a nightmare, pitting villages against urban municipalities, spawning protests and endless litigation. Last week, MLAs of at least two constitutencies wrangled over location of dumping grounds, as the not-in-my-backyard syndrome has scores of villages protesting. Goa's five major cities generate around 100 truckloads of garbage daily, 50-60 % of which is estimated to be plastic and non-degradable waste.Outlying villages are loathe to lend their space and environment for urban garbage, while municipalities have failed to find workable solutions. Outlying dump sites for Panaji, Mapusa and Margao cities all face hostility. Residents of Saligao likewise are protesting dumping mainly from the booming touristic township of Calangute which houses over 600 hotels and restaurants, but has no garbage management plan. The only city (Vasco da Gama) which seperates and decomposes garbage using microbes, generates 600 tonnes of compost. Environmentalists however are angered that the state's agriculture department is importing compost from SAngli and Miraj, putting the city's scheme into jeopardy. Last week they pulled out of a government committee, when authorities reallowed manufacture of polythene bags below 20 microns, after persistent lobbying from small scale manufacturers. In Goa's 183 villages, livestock and natural decomposition take care of organic waste. But plastic poses the perennial problem, with only a few villages managing to collect it seperately, in the absence of enforced household segregation.(ends) _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
