400,000 smashed coconuts likely to end up in landfill

GEORGE TOWN: With all that thick, nutrient-rich white meat still on the smashed coconuts, it would be a big waste if they ended up at the landfill after Thaipusam.

But that is where they will likely end up this year.

Despite the best efforts of the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), no company has stepped forward to convert the coconuts into resources this year.

“We searched for companies to turn the 400,000 smashed coconuts into compost but there were no takers, ” said MBPP public health committee alternate chairman Nicholas Theng.

There was one company in 2014, which was willing to process the smashed coconuts into fertiliser, a process that took over six months. But the endeavour did not bring in sufficient returns for it to be sustainable.

“We will continue to seek out industry players to convert the coconuts into other resources, ” said Theng.

The smashing of coconuts is an ancient Hindu ritual, practised under the belief that it will dispel negative energy and help the devotee overcome obstacles.

As such, families or individuals are known to smash up to 108 coconuts on the road just before the chariots approach them.

NGOs such as the Consumers Association of Penang have long objected to devotees who feel the need to smash so many coconuts and each year, remind devotees that smashing one coconut each was enough for the ritual.

However, the advice has fallen on deaf ears.