Increase in tourist numbers puts strain on waste management in the Nilgiris

Activists say that despite measures to curtail the use of single-use plastics by the government, tourist hotspots in the Nilgiris see huge inflow of waste

As tourists arrived in droves to the Nilgiris last week during the Ayudha Pooja holidays last week, an official from the Udhagamandalam Municipality said that over a three-day period, a total of 170 tonnes of garbage was collected across Udhagamandalam town – a substantial increase over “regular weeks” when there are fewer tourists.

Speaking to The Hindu, activists pointed out that the increase in tourists resulted in a significant strain on the waste management system in the district, and that despite measures to curtail the use of single-use plastics by the government, most places in the Nilgiris, especially tourist hotspots, continue to deal with a huge inflow of waste.

According to sources, waste from the tourism department in Doddabetta Peak in Udhagamandalam, one of the busiest tourist spots in the district, can exceed 1-1.5 tonnes of garbage over a single weekend when tourist numbers are high. “Most of this garbage is multilayer packaging, such as chips and biscuit packets, as well as drinks cans. While the cans can be recycled, the multilayer packaging has to be sent to other districts where they will be used in cement factories,” said P.J. Vasanthan, a trustee of ‘Clean Coonoor’, which runs the waste management facility in Coonoor.

Mr. Vasanthan said there had been a noticeable increase in garbage collection at the dumpyard in Coonoor as well, with dry waste collection increasing from an average of 4 tonnes a day to 5 tonnes a day and a similar increase in wet waste as well. “While an increase in tourist numbers results usually in an increase in waste generation, the Ayudha pooja festivities were also a factor last week,” he said.

Shobana Chandrasekar, an activist from the Make Ooty Beautiful (MOB) project, said open dumping of waste increases whenever there was an influx of tourists to the district, especially around private homestays, many of which are located away from the waste-collection matrix of the local municipalities. “As these places are allowed to function, there should be a system in place to ensure that waste from these areas is collected regularly,” said Ms. Chandrasekar. She added that the “green tax” which is collected at checkposts in border areas, should be used for waste management purposes.

“The green tax should be increased, and should not be used for other activities such as tree-planting or putting up notice boards, but instead should be used to manage waste in the district, as tourists put the most strain on the waste management network,” she said.