Waste management facility facing closure gutted in Kochi

A major fire broke out at a waste management facility at Arackappady near Perumbavoor on Monday, triggering panic in the area. The fire engulfed tonnes of non-biodegradable waste, including plastic, leaving the residential area under a thick cover of smoke for hours. Although 16 people were working in the 20,000-odd sqft facility when the fire broke out, nobody was injured.

Fire and Rescue Service units from various stations in Ernakulam district were still trying to douse the flames on Monday afternoon, according to an officer with the Pattimattom fire station.

The fire occurred at the material recovery facility of GreenEvotech, a Kochi-based waste management company. Vengola grama panchayat authorities said the local body had issued a stop memo to the company following complaints from local residents. “The stop memo was issued three months ago, according to which the company was asked to close the facility by October 15. However, they had not moved any material from the facility yet,” Anu Pathrose, member of Perumani ward where the facility is situated, said. She said the facility was being run on a rented plot. “The local residents complained as the garbage collected by the company heaped up in the facility, prompting the panchayat to take action,” she said.

The management of the firm, meanwhile, said that they had promptly responded to the stop memo and were preparing to relocate. “The facility was used for segregating waste materials collected by Haritha Karma Sena volunteers. The materials left in the godown were all segregated and ready to be handed over to recyclers. We have suffered huge losses in the fire as the product as well as machinery including a forklift and four baling machines were gutted in the fire,” Shebeena Shaji, marketing manager, said.

She claimed that the fire occurred due to a short circuit. “Our staff had noticed the spark and tried to douse the flames using in-house extinguishers. However, the fire spread rapidly,” she said.