South First unveils illegal trade of meat waste from Coimbatore to Karnataka, Kerala, AP. Coimbatore Corporation remains tight lipped.
Meat waste is illegally smuggled from Coimbatore to other South Indian states. (wiki commons)
For years, Coimbatore was said to be Kerala’s illegal dumping ground for meat waste. Now, in a reversal of trend, meat waste from Coimbatore is allegedly being illegally transported to Kerala, Karnataka, and even Andhra Pradesh.
In Kerala, meat waste is in high demand in the pisciculture and pig farming industries.
Over the last decade or so, concerned citizens and activists in Coimbatore have been alleging that unprocessed meat waste from the bordering districts of Kerala like Palakkad — and from as far as Kochi — was being illegally dumped on the farms and sidewalks of Coimbatore, a district on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.
Following consistent efforts by the citizens, the menace has reduced gradually in the past five years, an activist told South First.
“We organised many protests and sensitised the citizens of Coimbatore about the harmful effects of meat waste,” said A Kannan, who helped the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) seize 50 lorries carrying meat waste from Kerala in the past decade.
The impact of this was such that, over a period of time, the citizens took it upon themselves to stop vehicles from Kerala entering Coimbatore.
“Waste is still being dumped in Coimbatore, but not in tonnes as before,” Kannan said.
An Ernakulam-reigstered lorry that was confiscated by the CCMC for smuggling meat waste. (Supplied)
It is generally believed among those involved in the meat rendering business that illegal transportation of meat waste from Coimbatore is prevailing due to multiple reasons: The increase in meat availability, sprouting of meat rendering plants in South India, and industrial growth.
On 12 October, an Ernakulam-registered lorry with about 1.5 tonnes of meat waste was caught by the locals and was confiscated by the CCMC.
Days later, the vehicle still remains seized. The CCMC did not lodge a police complaint and no inquiry has been conducted to understand the business model.
Three chicken shop owners from Coimbatore told South First that the corporation officials encourage them to send meat waste to private lorries that take it to the neighbouring states.
“We have not lodged a police complaint for illegal dumping of waste in the past year. We usually impose a fine ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 and release the seized vehicle,” said a CCMC official, on condition of anonymity.
Many useful components in chicken waste — legs, head, skin, feathers, intestines and so on, can be used as a feed only after cooking it scientifically, according to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The rules also specify that the waste generated should be handed over only to authorised vehicles of the civic bodies.
According to the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2015, “In case the hazardous or other wastes is likely to be transported through any transit state, the sender shall intimate state Pollution Control Boards of transit states about the movement of the waste.”
Officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) told South First that they have not issued any permissions for the interstate transportation of meat waste from Coimbatore.
The Environment Protection Act, 1986, mandates imprisonment of up to three years for those who indulge in unauthorised waste transfer.
The CCMC is expected to alert the TNPCB, which can implement this provision.
Coimbatore witnesses at least three cases of illegal smuggling of meat waste a week. A Kerala registered vehicle smuggling meat waste from Coimbatore in September 2023. (Supplied)
“Local bodies should hand over the offenders to the police and the TNPCB. Even though there is a provision, under the Environment Protection Act of 1986, to arrest the owner in case of repeated offence, it is not implemented,” said Dr Kurian Joseph, professor of Environmental Engineering at Anna University.
However, the TNPCB officials confirmed to South First they have not implemented this Act against the offenders so far.
On 15 October, another lorry transporting 12 tonnes of chicken waste from Mettupalayam to a meat processing plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore was let off by CCMC officials, even though a few citizens stopped the vehicle, the locals have alleged.
The same vehicle was also used in illegal waste transfer from Coimbatore just three days ago, according to the locals.
The act explains how the CCMC is hand in glove with the offenders, they alleged.
“Corporation officials are bribed. How else would the waste cross the border?” asked Kannan. The CCMC officials were not willing to comment on the issue.
“There were three such cases in the past week. Being an urban locality with over 1,000 chicken shops, meat waste is in abundance here,” said SB Senthil Kumar, managing partner, Bhairav Renderers, who has collaborated with CCMC to process the meat waste into fertiliser.
“Culturally, Coimbatore residents do not prefer the skin of the chicken, a factor that increases the quantity of meat waste in the city,” he added.
Workers illegally transporting meat waste from Coimbatore to other South Indian states. (Supplied)
The CCMC is known to be a pioneer in meat waste management in Tamil Nadu. Since 2021, the civic body has been processing 10 to 12 tonnes of meat waste every day into manure and biofuel.
“Many lorries that come to Coimbatore from Kerala transporting timber go back empty. They collect the waste for free; sometimes they even pay us a meagre amount,” said a chicken shop owner from Coimbatore.
Informed sources said that in the north zone of the CCMC, a contract driver working for the CCMC openly transfers collected meat waste to a private vehicle.
“It is an open secret and no action has been taken,” sources said.
This illegal business has grown so much that Bhairav Renders which was processing 10 to 12 tonnes of meat waste a day, is now processing only three to four tonnes a day.
According to experts, meat waste, which is rich in protein, is used as as feed to grow African catfish in Kerala, an invasive species that was banned by the Union government in 2000, as it is a threat to native fish species.
As meat rendering plants are a flourishing business in South India, there is a demand for meat waste.(Supplied)
People prefer buying the African Catfish as it is affordable and businesses grow them as they are hardy and multiply faster, said experts.
“Illegal waste smuggling is driven by financial gain. Rendering plants are a flourishing business now; they rely on waste as raw material and hire individuals to illegally transport it across state borders,” said Dr John Abraham, professor and head of the Department of Livestock Production and Management (LPM), Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
“These activities defy Central Pollution Control Board regulations, which prohibit waste transportation between districts within a state,” he added.
“Local government and police facilitate these violations, posing grave risks such as disease transmission due to the decay of the materials involved. For instance, diseases like bird flu, which can cause fatalities in poultry and be passed on to humans,” Abraham told South First.
Conversations with lorry drivers involved in the illegal business revealed that meat waste from Coimbatore is also transported to recently-established company with its base in Mysore. The company processes 60 tonnes of meat waste every day, according to an employee.
“Meat waste from Mysore is not enough to keep the plant running at full capacity. We cannot rely on the waste from Bengaluru as the city has entered into a partnership with another company. So, we rely on waste from tier-2 cities,” the employee told South First on condition of anonymity.
The only scare for the owners that smuggle waste inter-state is the halt in their business when their vehicle is confiscated. None of the smugglers have been imprisoned, according to the activists.
“Coimbatore Corporation seized the vehicle of a smuggler for six months. That was the maximum punishment that has been given, as far as I know,” V Easwaran, president, Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam, an organisation that works on human rights, political and environmental issues, told South First.
Easwaran has been trying to sensitise citizens about the menace of meat waste and has been preventing the illegal dumping of waste in Coimbatore for over ten years.
Local bodies are the nodal agencies that should ensure waste is not transported to other districts and states.
“Unauthorised dumping of waste should be a serious offence that includes imprisoning the offenders. That is the only way the cross border waste disposal problem can be curbed,” said Easwaran.
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