TIRUCHY: With preparations for bio-mining on at the Ariyamangalam dump yard, the Tiruchirappalli Municipal Corporation has started taking measures to stop further dumping of waste at the site.
Sources said that the Corporation is planning to stop dumping of waste in Ariyamangalam by January 15, 2020. "Every day, the city generates about 450 tonnes of waste. Out of this, Ariyamangalam handles about 120 tonnes of waste and the rest is given to micro-composting centres of the civic body. But from January 15 onwards, the centres have to process the entire 450 tonnes of waste," a senior Corporation official said.
Officials admitted it would be a challenge to process all the waste at micro-composting centres. "We now have 32 micro-composting centres and are planning to open 12 more in the city. We hope they would able to process all the degradable waste. Non-degradable waste would be given to cement factories and other
facilities," said sources.
They said that the Corporation also has a Plan-B if the micro-composting centres are not able to handle the situation. "We have already consulted with cement companies and others taking non-degradable waste. They assured that they would be willing to take more waste from us. If the micro composting facilities are not able to handle the waste, we would send only degradable waste to Ariyamangalam. This would not create any obstacles for bio-mining works in the dump yard," an officer said.
Residents said that the Corporation should take these measures before summer. "Firefighters had to work round-the-clock for more than a week to control a major fire break earlier this year at the dump site. They need to take these steps before summer, otherwise the dump yard would face fire outbreaks during the
season," said J Murugavel, a resident.