The Hindu      31.12.2014   

Udupi CMC to go green in waste processing

The Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) is giving priority to harnessing green technology to process the garbage generated by the city.

The civic body is setting up a biomethanation plant on about 10 cents of land at Beedinagudde. This plant will have a capacity to process two tonnes of biodegradable waste per day.

Udupi city generates about 56 tonnes of garbage per day on an average. Presently, this waste-load is being processed at the Solid Waste Management Plant on 22 acres of land in Alevoor village, about 8 km from Udupi.

The biomethanation plant will be set up a cost of Rs. 35 lakh. “The tenders for this plant have been floated. The work will begin soon and is expected to be completed by June 2015. The plant will be fully operational by October 2015,” said M.K. Subramanya, Environmental Engineer of the CMC.

Biodegradable waste

The plant would require 2,000 kg biodegradable waste in the form of food and vegetable waste. Of the 58 tonnes of solid waste generated in the city, the CMC estimates that 33 tonnes is biodegradable waste. “We will get the food waste from the hotels, and expect to get vegetable waste from the vegetable markets,” he said.

This two tonnes of biodegradable waste would first be converted into slurry. This slurry would then be fed into the digester of the biomethanation plant. The waste would decompose in two days and start giving out methane. This methane would be passed into a 15 kVA generator, which will produce 12 kWh of power every day.

A separate power line will be drawn from this generator and the power generated would be used to light 300 street lamps in the Beedinagudde area.

Manure production

In addition, the plant will generate about 160 kg of manure daily. The compost generated from this plant could also be sold. The CMC expects to make about Rs. 2 lakh per year by selling the compost and also save on electricity bill. The biogas generated from the plant can also be supplied to nearby houses.

“Hotels and temples can set up smaller biomethanation plants. By doing so, they can utilise their food waste and use biogas produced for cooking. We will soon hold a workshop for hoteliers on this issue. This will also reduce the burden of the CMC,” Mr. Subramanya said.

“In addition to utilising waste in an eco-friendly manner, we will use green technology to promote a clean environment,” said CMC Commissioner Srikanth Rao.

Tenders have been floated for the plant that will be set up at a cost of Rs. 35 lakh

The work is expected to begin by June 2015 and the plant will be operational by October