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Solid Waste Management

GVMC gets down to SWM logistics

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The Hindu                      12.03.2013

GVMC gets down to SWM logistics

G.V. Prasada Sarma 

An elaborate plan has been drawn up for implementation from April 15.

The GVMC has drawn up an elaborate plan for implementation of the decentralised solid waste management from April 15.

Apart from logistics, officials at various levels are involved for implementation of the new SWM. Under the supervision of zone commissioners, assistant medical officers will oversee the work of sanitary inspectors who will get the work done through two or three maistries. The sanitary inspectors and those directly involved in the implementation have been shown a video of how the SWM is being done at other places. Job charts have been given.

The Officer-on-Special Duty (Information Technology) has created a web page to upload details of waste collected, men worked etc. “Garbage collected from each route will be uploaded as soon it is dumped at the site identified for the purpose. This will be a constant process as ultimately the exact quantity of wet and dry garbage collected is to be calculated for its effective, long-term disposal,” says Additional Commissioner (Finance) P. Purnachandra Rao, who is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the SWM told The Hindu . Until now, the calculation is based on the thumb rule that each person generates 400 to 500 gm of waste a day.

Depending upon the terrain, various vehicles required like wheel barrows, pushcarts, cycle-rickshaws and other vehicles will be deployed. The vehicle type is decided on whether a zone has more gradient or narrow lanes etc. To ply the vehicles and collect garbage, a total of 1,340 routes have been identified in all the 72 wards, says Mr. Purnachandra Rao.

Besides, for every 350 to 400 houses a vehicle is required to collect the waste after identifying specific requirements. “However, tenders have been called for only 60 per cent of the pushcarts as already cycle-rickshaws and wheel barrows have been acquired spending the 12th Finance Commission funds,” says Mr. Purnachandra Rao. Similarly, the mini vehicles brought with the funds will be utilised to pick up garbage from the transit points.

Sites identified

For all the zones, vacant sites have been identified for making compost out of the wet garbage collected. However, for now vermi-compost is not being taken up. On the process to be taken up for disposal of dry waste, including debris, coconut shells and plastic, officials of executive engineer rank have been assigned the task.

An elaborate training and campaign is also a part of the programme before the implementation begins.

 

Russel Market may get first-of-its-kind waste converter

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The New Indian Express                      11.03.2013

Russel Market may get first-of-its-kind waste converter

The bustling Russel Market waiting to get equipped with many high class facilities soon | EPS
The bustling Russel Market waiting to get equipped with many high class facilities soon | EPS 

After the fire mishap that gutted down a part of Russel market, the traders and concerned authorities have come to terms and worked towards installing several high class facilities in the premises while also focussing on management of solid waste. The traders association is planning to get a machine which will convert waste to power and it will be used by the entire market.

Following issues surrounding management of waste, recently Russell Market witnessed members of Solid Waste Management Round Table (SWMRT), led by waste management expert NS Ramakanth, visiting the market with the BBMP officials and urging the shopkeepers to segregate the waste generated in the market. The experts stressed specifically on the fish market which is a major contributor of wet waste in the market. The fish vendors were advised to use thermocole packages to collect the wet waste and send the same to the godown.

The machine which will generate power will cost from Rs 8 to Rs 12 lakh. Russell Market Traders Association’s General Secretary Mohammed Idrees Choudhry said, “We will have a discussion with the members of the association first and then we will propose the idea to the BBMP. If this is implemented then Russel market will be the first-of-its-kind to have such a technology. We want to equip the market with better facilities and set an example for others.”

 

Kochi says ‘no’ to refuse from Kottyam, Thrissur

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The Hindu                    11.03.2013

Kochi says ‘no’ to refuse from Kottyam, Thrissur

K.S. Sudhi 

The Kochi Corporation is flooded with offers from nearby districts to process their municipal waste at the Brahmapuram solid waste plant, say civic administrators.

Recently, the civic body turned down such offers from a few eager civic administrators of Kottayam and Thrissur districts.

“Though the corporation can handle waste from these districts, the offers were turned down fearing public wrath,” said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the corporation’s Health Standing Committee.

On a given day, the Brahmapuram plant can process 200 tonnes of non-biodegradable waste. Currently, waste weighing between 150 tonnes and 175 tonnes is processed at the site. “If waste from the neighbouring districts too is treated here, it may give rise to fresh rounds of protest,” said Mr. Ashraf.

The city witnessed a series of agitations in the past few weeks against the dumping of waste at the Brahmapuram after a fire broke out at the plastic waste dumping yard.

Representatives of Vadavukode-Puthencruz panchayat, where the plant is located, had slapped a stop memo on the plant and asked the corporation to shut down the unit.

Though it has turned down the offers from the nearby districts, the Kochi Corporation has taken a liberal stand towards the needs of the local bodies in the district. The civic body earns around Rs.6 lakh a month from treating the biodegradable waste generated from Aluva, Thrikkakara and Tripunithura municipalities. On an average, Thrikkakara and Aluva municipalities send in six tonnes of waste; refuse from Tripunithura weighs around three tonnes. The local bodies remit garbage treatment fee to the Kochi Corporation in advance. “The waste brought from the municipalities is weighed before treatment. Then the fee is collected,” he said. Angamaly and Kalamassery municipalities too have sought the help of the corporation to solve the garbage menace. The requests from these local bodies would be considered favourably, Mr. Ashraf said.

The generation of plastic waste from the city will be curbed when the civic body begins its drive against plastic carry bags. The campaign is expected to begin on March 20. Segregated collection of waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials has been intensified. “The health workers engaged in the collection and segregation have been directed to ensure that no plastic refuse are being taken to the plant site following the recent protests,” Mr. Ashraf said.

 


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