The City Corporation has evinced interest in pyrolysis process for recycling plastic wastes, after evaluating the latest technologies presented by leading solid waste consultants at a recent seminar organised jointly by Olirum Erodu Foundation and Confederation of Indian Industry - Erode Zone.

The seminar witnessed presentations on integrated and sustainable solid and liquid resource management, decentralised treatment system for bulk waste generator, bio mining and cost reduction in sewage purification technology.

Plastic disposal being the core of waste management, the Corporation would pursue adoption of pyrolysis technology, Corporation Commissioner Seeni Ajmal Khan said.

Land to the extent of an acre was the only requirement of the implementing entity that has already proved efficacy of the technology in Hyderabad and has won the assent of Madurai Corporation for adopting the process of converting waste plastic into fuel, he said.

According to experts, the process of anhydrous pyrolysis leads to production of liquid fuel similar to diesel from plastic waste, with a higher cetane number and lower sulphur content than traditional diesel. It is considered environmentally preferable to landfill.

The Corporation generates solid waste in excess of 250 tonnes a day in Erode City, the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. The garbage generated in homes, hospitals, shops and educational institutions is collectively gathered and segregates at the main dump site in Vendipalayam and the smaller one at Vairapalayam. As in Vendipalayam, equipment for mechanised segregation of plastic waste would be installed in Vairapalayam, Mr. Ajmal Khan said.