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.