KOCHI: Kochi Corporation has announced plans to construct a new windrow compost plant at Brahmapuram with a capacity of 150 tonnes per day. The government approved the project in January of this year.
“We had informed the government that it will take years to complete the waste-to-energy plant project, and therefore a new windrow compost plant is necessary,” said Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar at a press conference held on Saturday.
The detailed project report for the same has been sent for technical sanction to Kerala Solid Waste Management Project(KSWMP). “Once we receive the sanction from KSWMP and approval from the council, we will call for a tender. The windrow compost plant will follow a similar model to Pune Municipal Corporation’s composting system,” said a senior official of Kochi Corporation.
To reduce the volume of waste sent to Brahmapuram, the corporation plans to treat waste at the source. The corporation aims to reduce the daily waste sent to Brahmapuram to 150 tonnes, with 80 tonnes from within the Kochi Corporation limit and the rest from other municipalities and panchayats.
“To achieve this, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Associations will need to associate with private waste collection agencies. These agencies will collect waste from designated points and either treat it in their plants or transport it to pig or poultry farms. Kochi Corporation will monitor the process,” the official said.
For gated communities and flats, agencies like CREDAI can help build ferrocement-based composting units or fibre composting bins.
From April 1, 2023, the Haritha Karma Sena will collect segregated waste from households and take it to collection points. Plastic waste will be handed over to the Clean Kerala Company, and bio-waste will be taken to Brahmapuram. The corporation plans to install 450 CCTV cameras across its limits to fine those who dump waste on roads.
Bio-waste management unit in Edappally
The city’s first ward-level bio-waste management unit has started functioning in Edappally. CPIM district secretary C N Mohan inaugurated the unit on Sunday. Four Thumboormuzhi-model aerobic composts have been installed in Edappally Kunnumpuram Division.
The waste turned to compost will be utilised as fertiliser in the nearby farmlands.The amount of waste dumped in the Brahmapuram windrow compost plant can be reduced if such compost units start functioning in every division of the Kochi Corporation.
Councillor Ambika Sudarshanan took the initiative to install the compost in the division within 100 hours. Also, many councillors have come forward to set up similar composts in various divisions of the city.
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