THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With decentralised waste management proving ineffective and food waste collection going haywire after the termination of service providers, the Thiruvananthapuram corporation is gearing up to set up a centralised waste treatment plant on the lines of Brahmapuram. The plan is to install a CBG (compressed biogas) plant to handle the mounting solid waste.
The civic body has been depending on pig farms and private service providers for the disposal of tonnes of biodegradable waste generated in the state capital.
According to an official, around six agencies have expressed interest in setting up the plant.“A minimum of two acres are required for the plant. The civic body doesn’t have land for the purpose. Recently, the district administration identified and suggested a parcel of land in Kovalam, which is suitable for incinerators. We will be submitting a proposal to the government to allot revenue land for the purpose. The plant will come up within six months,” the source told TNIE.
As per estimates, the capital generates around 423 tonnes of waste every day. Of that, around 296 tonnes are biodegradable waste and 127 non-biodegradable. As part of the decentralised waste management project, the civic body had distributed around 65,000 bins for source-level waste management at the 2.82 lakh households in the capital. It is learnt that a considerable number of those bins are lying unused.
“With a population of over 10 lakh, the state capital needs a centralised plant, besides the existing decentralised system. All we have now are temporary solutions, which aren’t futuristic. We need more sustainable solutions and a centralised plant is crucial for such a big and fast developing city,” the official said.
The CBG plant at Brahmapuram, in Kochi, is capable of handling 150 tonnes of waste per day. “A majority of the pig farms are not licensed, and depending on them for handling food waste is not a solution. Also, people are hesitant to go for source-level waste management because its practical only for large plots,” the official pointed out.
Recently, the civic body had launched a comprehensive drive to encourage the public to adopt source-level waste management. But a majority of the residents are hesitant because of the bad experiences in the past.