The Hindu 01.04.2013
Local waste, localised disposal
Compost yards placed strategically across localities, are making a comeback in the city.
To deal with the mounting problem of garbage collection and disposal, the Chennai Corporation has decided to rejuvenate one of its old proposals — compost yards in every zone that will deal with waste locally.
Bids for construction of such facilities in areas such as R.K. Nagar have been floated this week. To begin with, the R.K. Nagar yard is expected to process ten tonnes of biodegradable waste per month.
In other areas such as Perambur, identification of land for compost yards is underway. At least ten grounds of land are required to commission a compost yard at the local level.
“We have created awareness among residents in Mottai Garden, Old Washermenpet, to set up a compost yard in their locality,” said an official. Around 250 households are already participating in the segregation of municipal solid waste, to facilitate operations at the new compost yard, he added.
Some years ago, the Chennai Corporation had compost yards in all its 10 zones. But they fell into disuse, and are not operational at present. The current project is envisaging their revival.
According to officials, many added zones such as Sholinganallur have facilities for compost yards created by erstwhile local bodies. Such facilities too, will be revived by the civic body.
The aim of the initiative is to reduce the Corporation’s burden of collecting increasing volumes of garbage. The coming months may witness a flurry of activity on local solutions to the problem of municipal solid waste in the city, the official said.
An earlier proposal for larger compost yards to handle nearly 300 tonnes of garbage generated from suburbs such as Tambaram, Pallavaram and Alandur Municipalities was a failure. In 2007, the erstwhile Alandur Municipality decided to pull out of the project.
