SALEM: With Salem city generating 550 tonnes of waste daily, the city is taking a major step towards modernizing waste management. The municipal corporation is biomining 1.3 lakh cubic metres of legacy waste at Chettichavadi and constructing a bio-CNG plant that will convert hundreds of tonnes of organic waste into renewable fuel. This initiative is expected to reduce landfill dependency and improve environmental hygiene.
Salem City Municipal Corporation Commissioner M Elangovan said, "Regarding waste segregation, the corporation is raising awareness among the public. Currently, 80% of the waste collected from the public is segregated, and the remaining segregation is carried out by workers during door-to-door collection."
He added that of the waste collected from homes, 45% is organic, while up to 90% of waste from markets is organic. Of the total waste collected, nearly 50 tonnes are processed in micro-composting centers, with the remaining being dumped at the Chettichavadi dump yard.
For the construction of the bio-CNG plant, land-use permission and concession agreements have been signed, and the Chettichavadi site has been demarcated for the project. The construction period is set for one year, and the contract spans 20 years under a public-private partnership model with a private partner. The estimated budget for construction is around Rs 57 crore.
Once operational, the bio-CNG plant will have a capacity of 200 tonnes of organic waste per day, though initially, 160 tonnes per day will be processed. For each tonne of waste, the corporation earns Rs 315, which translates to a daily revenue of approximately Rs 50,400 when processing 160 tonnes, the commissioner noted.
The bio-CNG produced at the plant is planned for use in municipal vehicles and buses, contributing to Salem's clean energy goals while reducing the environmental footprint of solid waste.
The dump yard is also undergoing biomining to reclaim the land. "So far, nearly 15,000 cubic metres of waste have been excavated, with the target set at 1 lakh tonnes within six months. The process will also lower the land's elevation and prevent groundwater contamination, allowing the degraded land to be safely reclaimed for future use," said SCMC's municipal engineer R Selvanayagam.
Previously, much of the organic waste was simply dumped at Chettichavadi, contributing to foul odours and environmental hazards. Residents in the area are hopeful that the upcoming plant and biomining efforts will improve hygiene and significantly reduce these problems.