SAMBALPUR: Four new micro composting centres (MCCs) will come up in Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) area within a month.Work on the new compost centres, having a capacity of five tonne, is going on in full swing. Of the new MCCs, two are being set up at Khandual and one each at Larpank and Kainsir.
Sources said the SMC is setting up the new MCCs in view of the demand of public and the need to expedite garbage collection and disposal in the city. Every day, around 110 tonne of garbage including 55 tonne of biodegradable or wet waste is generated in the city. The waste is sent to the seven MCCs currently functional at two places in Burla and one each at Durgapali, Chaurpur, Balibandha, Rasanpur and Silipathar. Besides, six material recovery facilities (MRFs) are also operational.
Production in the existing MCCs started earlier this year and the manufactured compost sold under the name of ‘Mo Khata’ has garnered a good response from locals. Over 11 women SHG members along with three supervisors have been engaged for management of each MCC. The compost is being sold from a counter set-up at the SMC office by women members.
Enforcement officer of SMC Subhankar Mohanty said so far, households across all the wards have been covered under door-to-door garbage collection service. “We have pressed 64 vehicles to collect garbage from households. The segregated waste is collected at the source while the unsegregated garbage is brought to the MRF. Here, the non-biodegradable garbage is separated and the degradable waste is sent to MCC for further processing,” he informed.
The non-degradable waste is collected by rag pickers and scrap dealers from MRF and sent to the cement factory at Bargarh, where it is used as fuel. Mohanty said the MCCs have been helpful in clearing the garbage at temporary dump yards. Moreover, the compost centres are supporting the livelihood of many people. Three are plans to set up more MRFs soon, he added.