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A new waste management model with a focus on large dump sites proposed by Minister for Local Self-Government K.M. Shaji appears to be at variance with Kerala’s existing decentralised models. In a media interaction on Thursday (July 2, 2026), he went on to pitch the idea to have three large dump sites of around 30 acres each in north, central, and southern Kerala to address the large amounts of waste produced.
The existing model is built around eradication of large legacy dump sites and reclaiming the land. By the end of 2025, the Local Self-Government department had managed to clear 59 legacy waste dumps across the State, covering an area of 127 acres and holding 19.13 lakh tonnes of waste. Lalur, one of the legacy dump sites in Thrissur, was transformed into the site for the I.M. Vijayan Sports Complex, while the Brahmapuram landfill in which a major fire broke out in March 2023, was turned into a ground and garden after removing the waste.
The Minister’s plan puts a question mark over this ongoing project of scientific remediation to reclaim lands that had turned into legacy dump sites.
According to Mr. Shaji, the idea of recycling waste is ineffective. “Only about 30% of the waste can be recycled, however hard you might try. Are there any States that have done it successfully? We have to address the remaining 70%. Singapore, which is a thickly populated region like ours, has a successful model of dump sites. All of the successful waste management models across the world involve dump sites in secluded areas. If we can get 30 acres of land in three locations across the State, we can take care of the waste for around 20 years. The World Bank has approached us with a project,” said Mr. Shaji.
Since Kerala has been witnessing local opposition even to the setting up of waste management facilities, as witnessed in Avikkal Thodu in Kozhikode against the setting up of a sewage treatment plant (STP), it will be hard to find land for a dump site in the densely populated State.
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