Plastic Litter Study along NH 66 Kerala March 2020 Zero Waste & Climate Action About Thanal Thanal, a public interest research, and campaign organisation, is one of the oldest environmental organisations in Kerala. The organisation was founded in 1986 with a vision “People, Planet, Sustainability”. Thanal leads campaigns/projects at the grass- root level, handholds communities to find environmental solutions, networks with other groups at national & international level to share ideas & experiences, mentors environmental stewardship, and advocates with policymakers for an environmentally friendly approach to developmental requirements. Focus areas of Thanal include Climate Action, Zero Waste, Organic Farming, Agriculture Diversity, Agro-Ecology, and Toxics. Thanal pioneered the idea of Zero Waste Communities in India with Zero Waste Kovalam project. Later Thanal worked with UNDP to develop zero waste systems for selected tourist destinations across different terrains in India. Thanal facilitated the birth and growth of Zero Waste Himalaya network. Zero Waste Centre, an enterprise for alternate products conceived by Thanal, proved the role of the local economy in building zero waste systems in communities. Today Thanal is a consultant for Zero Waste systems building and partner organisation in international campaigns/networks like #breakfreefromplastic movement and GAIA (www.no- burn.org). #breakfreefromplastic Break Free From Plastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in September 2016, over 1200 groups from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. These organisations share the common values of environmental protection and social justice, which guide their work at the community level and represent a global unified vision. (www.breakfreefromplastic.org) GAIA Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative (GAIA) is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grass-root groups, non-governmental organisations and individuals in over 90 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. GAIA and its members are global leaders in advancing visionary, win-win solutions to waste and pollution that protect the environment and human wellbeing and build strong participatory local economies (www.no- burn.org) www.thanal.co.in Page 1 Acknowledgment Firstly, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to GAIA for providing the fund for the study. I thank Jayakumar C, Executive Director, Thanal, and Shibu K Nair, GAIA India Coordinator for the continuous support. We extend our sincere thanks to Plastic Task Force members Gokul GP, Ananthu M R, Akhila S Raj, Athul Vinu, Namitha, Jithin V L, Sruthy S, Anishida G V, Gopika B, Sooraj Surendran, Vasanth Krishnan, Anto V M, Sneha Mohan, Sindhupriya, Arunima, Aathira J W, Anna Nayan and Shilpa Sivan. We have to express out our appreciation to other team members of Thanal for sharing pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this study. www.thanal.co.in Page 2 Contents Page 1. Executive Summary 4 2. Definitions 5 3. Background 6 4. Objective 6 5. Methodology 6 5.a. Sampling 6 5.b. Data Collection 7 5.c. Analysis 7 5.d. Calculation of Litter Index 9 6. Limitations and Assumptions 10 7. Findings 11 7.a. General Composition 11 7.b. Contribution of Single use plastics 13 7.c. District wise comparison of plastic litter 14 7.d. Litter Indices 15 7.e. Estimate of Plastic litter along NH 66 17 7.f. Most littered and least littered sample sites 18 7.g. Quantification of Specific types of plastic 19 8. Brand Audit 20 9. Facts at a glance 24 10. References 25 www.thanal.co.in Page 3 Executive summary Kerala is situated in the southwestern end of the Indian subcontinent. It lies between the Arabian Sea in the West and the Western Ghats in the East with an area of 38863 sq km. Kerala is a famous tourist destination and according to the tourism department of Kerala 15765390 tourists visited Kerala in 2017 (Tourist statistics, 2018) and the numbers are increasing. Apart from these tourists native people also depend on roads and it causes littering on the roads. NH 66 is an important national highway in Kerala which passes through towns and villages. Since plastic littering is a serious issue that requires immediate attention. This study is conducted to identify the average plastic litter index in the National Highway 66 in Kerala. NHAI is the authority responsible for the management of highways in India. The results will be shared among the policymakers and local self-governments. A team of two members from Thanal has conducted a litter study with 10 km interval in NH 66. Data collection started on 24-08-2019 and completed on 31-08-2019. Samples are collected from a rectangular plot in each location. The team covered 643 km and collected samples from 64 spots. Google map was used to identify the exact locations. Each sample was collected in separate cloth bags. Along with this, a brand audit was also done with the collected items. The study finds that state average plastic litter index for Towns and Villages is 0.75 number of plastic pieces per square meter and estimated that there is 68 lakh pieces in the NH 66 in Kerala. Likewise, there is 3.57-gram plastic litter in a square meter and estimated that 32719.83kg plastics in the total area. As mentioned earlier 0.75 is the state average litter index. 1.58 is the litter index of Kollam district which has the most littered NH as per the study. NH passing through Kozhikode was the least littered district with an index of 0.52. Among the collected waste Food & Snacks contributes the most. The brand audit was done to identify which are the most littering brands in NH. Perfetti van Melle, ITC, Pepsico, Vicks Procter and Gamble, and Nestle were found to be the major littering brands in NH. Among the identified brands these five brands constitute 63% of the total. www.thanal.co.in Page 4 1. Definitions # Word Definition a. Litter Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed of improperly, without consent, at an undesirable location. b. Litter index is a statistical measure devised to compare Litter Index relative cleanliness of an area c. Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth-based primarily on satellite imagery. d. Global Positioning System. GPS is a satellite navigation GPS system used to determine the ground position of an object using Latitude and Longitude. e. Google Maps Google Maps is a Smartphone application that enables the user to locate and navigate to specific GPS coordinates f. PET Polyethylene Terephthalate. Designated as #1 g. HDPE High-Density Polyethylene. Designated as #2 h. PVC Polyvinyl Chloride. Designated as #3 i. LDPE Low-Density Polyethylene. Designated as #4 j. PP Polypropylene. Designated as #5 k. PS Polystyrene. Designated as #6 l. Polymers that are referred among the recycling industry as HM Heavy Molecule polymer. m. Reject and Inerts Post-processing rejects from dry waste collection centers. Items that do not have recycle value. Items that are usually sent for sanitary landfill. www.thanal.co.in Page 5 2. Background Any trash that is not disposed properly would be considered to be litter. Many travelers are hitting the roads in Kerala and there is an increased potential for littering in the roadside. Dumping is also a significant source of trash on or near roadways. Environmental pollution caused by plastic is one of the major threats we are facing now. Researchers estimate that more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment (UN environmental programme). Researchers say that by 2050 there will be more plastic pieces than the number of fishes in the ocean. This is a serious situation that needs immediate attention. Kerala produces 480 tons of plastic waste per day as the administration fails to enforce a ban on plastic material below 50 microns. On average, a family in the state produces 60 grams of plastic waste per day, the Kerala Suchitwa Mission has estimated (THE WEEK, 2018). Thanal conducted a study on March’19 named “A Study on Plastic Litter Along Kerala Coast” and the result shows that there is 1.66 number of plastic pieces per square meter. There are leakages in the current waste management system. Before planning for policy changes we must develop baseline data about littering. This study will find the littering rate in NH 66 in Kerala. Brand audit of the collected samples was done in order to find which are the major littering brands. 3. Objective The study aims to build an inventory and baseline information on plastic litter in NH 66 in Kerala. Methodology Sampling Data collected from nine districts in Kerala through which NH 66 passes. Sample spots are chosen at regular 10-kilometer intervals on the National highway. From Trivandrum to Kasaragod study team covered 643km and took samples from 64 sites. Google earth was used to determine the sample spots and google map was used to identify the exact locations during the sample collection. The team used the same mobile phone as a GPS locator to maintain consistency. The starting point was at Kerala – Tamil Nadu border on the south, in the district of Trivandrum, and the last sample site was at Kasaragod district, Northern part of Kerala. GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates for starting point www.thanal.co.in Page 6 is 8°21'30.2"N 77°08'25.2"E and 12°43'37.2"N 74°53'09.4"E is the GPS coordinates of last sample collection site.