The ambitious 'garbage-free Kerala' drive of the Government of Kerala will now see the participation of children from the anganwadi level.

Seeking to achieve the larger objective of keeping the entire state free of waste, the Co-operative Department has launched a campaign to impart basic waste management lessons to children and make them part of the process of waste management, as stated a report in PTI.

Minister for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs VN Vasavan marked the state-level inauguration of the "cleanliness-cooperation" programme at a function here on Thursday, August 18.

The minister, during the function, said the programme envisages to inculcate the habit of waste management among children from the anganwadi to the lower primary school level.

Stating that cleanliness is a major factor that leads a land to progress, he said developing a habit of treating the garbage at its source is significant.

"The objective of the initiative is to inculcate a new culture of hygiene and waste management through different groups of people including through children," he said.

Under the initiative, waste bins would be set up in anganwadis and schools and waste management methods would be taught to teachers, official sources said.

Lessons would be given to them on how to segregate and treat the waste scientifically.

Children, who see different types of waste being deposited in different bins on a daily basis, would naturally imbibe the basic lessons of scientific waste management, they explained.

Such systems would also be encouraged to be used in homes, the sources added.

It would instill the idea in the minds of children that it is our responsibility to dispose the waste we create, the minister said.