Microplastics Found in Soil Along Periyar Bank at Edayar Industrial Site
Soil tests at the defunct Sreesakthi Paper Mills site in Edayar, beside the Periyar, found microplastic contamination, prompting the pollution board to seek a containment plan.
Soil samples taken from the site of a closed industrial unit in the Edayar industrial area, next to the banks of the Periyar River, have been found to contain microplastic contamination.
Testing carried out in July 2026 at the School of Environmental Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, recorded concentrations of up to 2,520 microplastic particles per kilogram of soil. The exercise was ordered by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, acting on a National Green Tribunal directive that called for remediation work to begin at the site.
The samples came from land beside the riverbank on the eastern side of the plot, which belongs to the now-defunct Sreesakthi Paper Mills. Two samples were drawn at distances of about four metres and 10 metres from the bank. The nearer sample showed 2,520 particles per kilogram, while the farther one registered 1,520 particles per kilogram. The particles were identified as fibres, films and foams.
Pollution Control Board officials in Ernakulam said a letter had been sent to the management seeking a detailed proposal on steps to stop plastic waste from the site from entering and migrating into the river.
A senior representative of the company said it would abide by the directions of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards. The firm has informed the authorities that sheet piling will be installed on its land along the riverbank as part of the remediation process, the representative added.
The unit was shut in 2016 after the State Pollution Control Board found untreated effluents being discharged into the river. It occupied 8.75 acres, of which roughly 81 cents were used to dump plastic waste and incinerator ash from its operations. The facility has since been converted into a warehousing operation under a new company name.