CHENNAI: In a move that could relieve the city from landfills, the Chennai Corporation has finalized the proposal to bio-remediate Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumpyard at a cost of `1,250 crore. The proposal is likely to be reviewed by the Chief Secretary soon, following which, officials expect the remediation to start by next year.
‘’The Kodungaiyur dump yard will be remediated at a cost of `800 crore while the Perungudi at `450 crore,’’ said a top corporation official, adding that the civic body aimed to restore the Pallikaranai marshlands completely. The civic body scrapped its older idea of landfill capping, which means, to close the whole landfill using a cover. This is also perceived to be unscientific. Officials said bio-remediation could be game-changer in solid waste management.
According to a journal on industrial pollution, (2011), bio-remediation is an internationally acclaimed method involving microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
Where the dump yard waste will go?
‘’Tenders have been issued to set up four Bio-CNG centres to convert organic waste into bio-compressed natural gas. Each can treat upto 500 metric tonnes daily,’’ said the official, adding that four more facilities will be set up next year. The civic body would employ traditional methods of segregation and composting waste in its Resource Recovery Centre and Material Recovery Centre.
‘’Incineration and pyrolysis (thermal decomposition) are two other ways the landfill waste will be brought down,’’ the official said, adding that pyrolysis plant could process up to 220 mt of plastic and rubber waste. Meanwhile, to process dry waste, the civic body signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with cement factories. ‘’Currently, we give Dalmia cements 300 mt of dry waste, plastic, and other burnable items daily. We expect others to sign up with us too,’’ the official said.
The civic body pays a tipping fee of `500 to the company to transfer waste to their processing units in Cuddapah and Ariyalur. As part of the remediation process, the civic body is set to create 100 acres of temporary dumping in Kodungaiyur, while 50 acres in Perungudi. The remediation will be done under public private partnership, while the cost for treatment would be borne by government.