Railways too tread the green path

In a bid to become more environment friendly, the Southern Railways is all set to convert waste into energy.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :  In a bid to become more environment friendly, the Southern Railways is all set to convert waste into energy. According to officials, the railways will treat biodegradable waste and generate electricity from it. As a first step, the Thiruvananthapuram railway station will install a plastic shredding machine which will ensure proper management of waste.

A plastic shredding machine kept at
Thiruvananthapuram Railway Station
which will be installed soon  
Vincent Pulickal

The station authorities has proposed a project to process the biodegradable waste generated at the railway station. “The biodegradable waste processed in the plant will be converted into electricity which will be used by Railways. Currently the authorities are studying on the feasibility of the project. Once finalised, we will select a cost-effective option,” said Rajesh Chandran, station director, Thiruvananthapuram railway station.  

Plastic shredding machine   
Clean Kerala Company will associate with the railway authorities to install a plastic shredding machine. The machine that costs Rs 35 lakh is being sponsored by IOC. “The railways has already provided land from the railway yard to the company. The building funded by the railways to set up the machinery for processing the biodegradable waste is already ready,” said Rajesh.  

The Kudambasree unit will be entrusted with the responsibility to segregate and manage the waste. Around 2,500 kg of plastics is being generated on a daily basis from trains alone at the station yard. The shredding unit will be a boom to the railway station as currently the railway struggles to pay a heavy amount to the contractors. 

The machine has a capacity to shred plastic. The shredded plastic will be transferred to a machine, which will compress the plastic. The compressed plastic will be used for construction of roads. The installation work will be completed soon, railway officials said. Currently, they are in the lookout for an area where they can sort dry and wet plastics from the remaining garbage.The station authorities have implemented Green Protocol in the station as part of the Swachhta Hi Seva campaign, which began on September 15.