The Hindu             26.11.2013

Garbage disposal is not a ‘pipe dream’ in Puttur

Residents of Chikmudnoor village of Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada have opted for an innovative way to dispose of garbage. Using pipe composting, they are converting biodegradable waste into manure.

Anita is one among 400 residents in the village who have installed the system at her home. “I put waste from the kitchen into the pipe. It has been functioning smoothly so far,” she said. The success of the project has prompted the Puttur Town Municipal Council to implement it in all houses across Puttur taluk by 2014.

Introduced by the Karnataka Integrated Development Society (KIDS), the pipe composting system consists of two six-ft-long pipes, with around one-ft-long part of the pipe buried underground. Kitchen waste is put into one pipe and when it is filled, the second pipe can be used. By the time the second pipe is filled, contents of the first one would have turned into manure.

M.H. Sudhakar, chief officer, Puttur TMC, said the TMC would implement pipe composting in all 27 wards. Now, only four wards (50 houses in Kemmai, seven houses in Banglegudde, a few offices in Nellikatte and one house in Samethadka) have implemented it.

The system can be an alternative to the door-to-door collection of system in which labourers hired by the TMC collect waste from houses. Getting labourers for the job is tough as they want higher wages than what the municipality can offer.

Sahana D. C., environment engineer, TMC, Puttur, said if waste segregation was implemented properly, the municipality need to collect only dry waste on specific days.

Dayananda Poojari, vice-president of the neighbouring Nelyady Grama Panchayat, said even their panchayat was encouraging the system and 20 families had bought pipes.

Ravichandra, project officer, KIDS, said installing it was not all expensive as a 10-ft long cement pipe would cost only Rs. 350. It could be cut in to two. “Jaggery and cow dung is used to start decomposing and buttermilk will speed up the process. The manure is formed in two months and it can be sold for Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 a kg,” he said.

However, the system has its own practical difficulties too. Dajamma, another resident of Chikmudnoor found the pipes filled with water. Mr. Ravichandra, who found rice ‘ganji’ in it, said only solid waste should be dumped into it.

John Kunnithethu, executive director, KIDS, said the idea was implemented first in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, where the government gives a subsidy for the scheme.