Tourism zone cleared of plastic

KOCHI: Abandoned drinking water bottles are bringing revenue to the Vazhachal Forest Division. And saving the environment too.

The division is planning to sell the plastic bottles collected from the Athirapally tourism zone after pressing them into compact blocks.

The division has already received offers from plastic traders who plan to recycle the clean plastic collected from here, said A. Ranjan, Divisional Forest Officer, Vazhachal.

The campaign was originally launched to curb the plastic waste menace.

Eventually, it turned out to be a revenue earner and a bonus for protecting the environment too.

The authorities have collected around 10,000 plastic bottles abandoned by visitors to the Athirapally tourist zone alone in three weeks.