The Hindu 17.01.2013
Cantonment Board strikes rich with kitchen waste
For more than five years now, St. Thomas
Mount-cum-Pallavaram Cantonment Board has been converting a huge
quantity of kitchen waste into manure, while most other local bodies in
the city’s suburbs seem to have their lost way in tackling biodegradable
waste.
Due to effective implementation of provisions
spelt out in Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000, the local body is able
to prevent close to 3 tonnes of garbage from entering its dumping yard
every day.
Further, kitchen waste is converted into high-quality organic manure through vermin-composting at four places in the Cantonment.
A
variety of earthworm native to Africa is used in the vermin-composting
process. “For converting municipal solid waste, we have found that
Eudrilus eugeniae is much better than the ones naturally found in
farmlands around Chennai,” said Shiva Krishnamurthy, senior project
director, Hand in Hand, the non-governmental organisation that is
helping Cantonment Board in its solid waste management project.
A
longer life, faster multiplication and ability to digest kitchen waste
faster were the reasons this variety of earthworm was preferred. They
are procured from farms in Vedanthangal, Cuddalore and Puducherry.
In
the process, each month, the Board is able to generate close to 2
tonnes of manure, which is sold at Rs. 10 per kg. “What we earn from the
sales of the manure is negligible, but we are able to reduce a
significant amount of garbage from entering our dumping yard,” said S.
Prabhakaran, chief executive officer of the Board.
Source
segregation is ensured in the 14,500 households and this has also
eliminated dumping of waste in public places and subsequent complaints
from residents.
Of the 9 tonnes generated everyday, 3
tonnes comprise kitchen waste, recyclable plastic and paper waste in
equal measure, said staff.
The 120 workers engaged in
primary collection sell the plastic waste they collect, earning
additional income of Rs. 50 a day. There are plans to create kitchen
gardens in each of the four sheds where vermin-composting is undertaken,
the staff said.
