KOCHI: There has been a change in profile of plastic debris being thrown into the waterbodies.According to marine experts, the number of plastic bottles being thrown into the marine and brackish waters in Ernakulam has come down drastically."We have been monitoring the coasts and marine debris that have been brought in by fisherfolks and those washed ashore. Now, we are getting more plastic kits. Back in 2010-11, it was mostly plastic bottles. As there is value for bottles, people are not throwing it away," said V Kripa, principal scientist and head of fishery environment management division, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).The city corporation has got waste disposal system, so one won't find much marine litter in its limits. But there are many coastal panchayats, which would have to evolve an environment management plan to collect and segregate plastic waste , she added.CMFRI team is working with two wards in Mulavukkad panchayat, which has seen a drastic reduction in waste disposal and in the quantity of waste generated, through an environment management plan."Recycling is being done in ward VIII and IX and it is working successfully with the efforts of councillors," said Kripa."We don't have a common storage facility to collect plastic for recycling. A few panchayats will have to work together to solve the issue," she added.Earlier, CMFRI team had done a sample survey of canals and backwaters in Mulavukad panchayat, which was home to shrimp farms.They found that the waters and soil sediments had more plastics than organisms. This formed the base for a participatory initiative to make the panchayat plastic-free under Nirmaladhara project, CMFRI.The panchayat had suggested to start with ward VIII. With the help of Kudumbashree, the canals were cleaned. Residents were taught to segregate plastic waste for recycling. A local woman had agreed to collect it every 15 days and residents had decided not to dump plastic in the waters and to avoid use of one-time plastic. Following the successful management of plastic menace in the two wards, more wards are now planning to duplicate it to make Mulavukkad panchayat, a plastic-free zone.

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