Rockway shows the way in waste management

Rockway Residents Association in Kozhikode wins Exemplary Zero Waste Society award, leading the way in waste management practices.

A decade of hard work and relentless efforts in the fight against waste has paid off for Rockway Residents Association in Kozhikode, as it bags the award for Exemplary Zero Waste Society from the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The residents association located at Thondayad is one of three organisations to win the award in its maiden edition, alongside winners from Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru, making it a model for waste management across the country.

Formed in 2006, the association began its journey towards basic cleanliness, sanitation, and the transformation into green homes around 2009 when the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) launched its biogas plants. Prabhakaran Kayanattil, then a worker of the KSSP and now president of the association, led the way by converting his home into a model to educate his neighbours. Fourteen years later, the majority of the 96 houses in the association have become green homes, equipped with biogas plants for organic waste, solar panels for electricity, and self-sustaining agriculture.

The members of the association took care not to throw away non-biodegradable waste and to hand it over for recycling. Their activities included ensuring that the rain water is completely absorbed into the soil, keeping the wells covered, converting the leaves into manure and using it for vegetable cultivation, and using LED bulbs in houses.

“Our efforts gained pace when ‘Niravu Vengeri’ started collecting our plastic waste free of cost in 2014. More and more families started handing over plastic waste as they did not have to pay for it any more,” Mr. Kayanattil said.

Another turning point for Rockway was in 2022 when the Kozhikode Corporation launched Haritha Karma Sena and offered subsidies to set up waste management devices in homes.

Besides, the association members took extra care of their roads by sweeping it regularly and setting up boards all around asking the visitors not to throw waste around. It was the District Suchitwa Mission that reviewed the activities of Rockway and reported it to the Swachh Bharat Mission.