The Hindu         03.01.2012

Brahmapuram: accumulated waste to be cleared before June

The waste accumulated at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant will be cleared before the onset of monsoon in June, according to authorities.

Inclement weather has affected the processing as the waste accumulated inside the plant is absorbing moisture, and the water seeping into the floor through the cracks, said Babu Ambat, Executive Director of the Centre for Environment and Development (CED), which has been running the plant for the Kochi corporation.

The civic authorities had brought in the agency for running the plant some time back when the installed machines developed technical snag. The floor where the machinery was installed had sunk. The plant site had subsequently become a waste dumping yard as the machines could not be operated. Huge quantity of waste has been accumulated at the plant site as the processing could not be carried out for nearly a year and a half, during the term of the previous corporation council.

According to Dr. Ambat, plans were afoot to dry the waste out in open.

The increased moisture in the waste was causing some glitches in processing. The situation can be avoided if the waste is dried in the yard, he said.

The increased moisture and the resultant snags were preventing the capacity utilisation of the plant. Though the plant can now be operated nonstop for around 20 hours, it can be effectively run for around 15 hours only. Much time is lost in de-clogging the machines, he said.

Capacity

The plant has an installed capacity to process 250 tonnes of waste a day. Currently, around 60 tonnes is processed and this can be gradually stepped up to the range of 150 tonnes to 200 tonnes a day.

If weather permits, the backlog would be cleared within four months, he said.

The new civic regime has evinced interest in taking forward the functioning of the plant. The agency hopes to relieve itself from the job of running the plant within two years. The civic administration has been apprised of the ground situation, he said.

The segregated collection of waste was better in Kochi when compared to Thiruvananthapuram. The situation needs to be improved in some areas and the issue has been brought to the notice of the civic administration, he said.

The agency is waiting for the completion of the road works for clearing the non-degradable refuse from the plant site.

Once the road project is completed, these materials can be transported to the sanitary landfill site, he said.