KOCHI: The processing and treatment of food and biowaste generated every day in Kochi city was a challenging task for the local bodies once.
Now, the fertiliser produced from the food waste, which is being treated at the Brahmapuram waste dumping yard, will reach Dubai and will be used for cultivation there.
Fabbco Biocycle, the company entrusted with processing the food waste at Brahmapuram using black soldier fly technology, is exporting three containers of enriched fertiliser produced from the waste to Dubai on Tuesday.
"We have entered into an agreement with ReFarm Global, an agency in the agriculture sector, to export fertiliser to Dubai. Three containers (around 72 tonnes) will be shipped this week. In the following weeks, we aim to ship two containers of fertiliser every week," said Latheef, the director of Fabbco Biocycle.
The biowaste treatment plant using the ‘Black Soldier Fly’ (BSF) technology became operational at Brahmapuram around one and a half years ago. Around 50 tonnes of food waste are treated at the facility per day.
"Biowaste treatment using black soldier flies was one of the various methods we relied on to treat organic waste after the Brahmapuram fire. It is an achievement for the state. We have been able to spread the idea of generating revenue from waste through such initiatives," Minister for Local Self-Government M B Rajesh wrote on Facebook, appreciating the initiative.
"We used to store the fertiliser here, and it was sold locally to coconut farmers. In the meeting with the Dubai delegates, it was agreed to export the products," he said, adding that the fertiliser is nutrient-rich as it is processed with black fly larvae.
The Kochi Corporation Council decided to issue the work of food waste processing to the firm following the fire outbreak at the dumping site in March 2023.
Earlier in January this year, a delegation of experts from Dubai visited Fabbco's innovative biodegradable waste processing facility at Brahmapuram and agreed to purchase the product.