Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has said that the solid waste generated from the Coke bottling plant in Palakkad district in Kerala will not come under the purview of hazardous waste.

Disclosing results of a study conducted around the premises of the plant at Plachimada, KSPCB member secretary K V Indulal, who led the special investigation team, said neither the well water around the company premises nor the land ''manured'' with the waste from the plant was found contaminated with any of the heavy metals such as cadmium, lead or chromium.

The concentration of cadmium and other heavy metals in the sludge were found to be below the limit prescribed under the Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1989 as amended this year.

But the solid waste generated from the factory was not advisable for applying on land for agriculture as manure, he said. Hence, the company should handle the wastes in the prescribed manner enunciated in the amended rules, 2003.