Waste not!

Technopark’s ‘Going Green’ initiative finally finds fruition with the establishment of an integrated solid waste management facility.

May 29, 2015 08:25 am | Updated 08:25 am IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Biogas plant behind Tejaswini building in Technopark. Photo: Special Arrangement

Biogas plant behind Tejaswini building in Technopark. Photo: Special Arrangement

Being and thinking green is one of the guiding principles of Technopark and in the run up to World Environment Day on June 5 the campus can rightfully claim for its own the tag, ‘greenest IT Park in the country.’ Technopark has, over the years, been gradually implementing eco-friendly initiatives such as banning flex boards and techies themselves have recently kick-started their own organic cultivation initiative.

Technopark is now in the process of going greener with its ‘Going Green’ campaign, which has finally found fruition after several years in the works. As part of the initiative Technopark has set up an integrated solid waste management facility inside the campus, including a five-tonne capacity biogas plant, bio bins and an incinerator. The facility, set up behind the Tejaswini building, is reportedly the first of its kind on this scale for an institution in the state.

“The amount of food and plastic waste generated on campus on a daily basis was getting too much for us to handle. That’s why we decided to come up with a multi-pronged waste management solution that works on the green principles of reduce, reuse, recycle and recover, using natural and technological means to achieve it,” says Abhilash D.S., head, HR and Administration, Technopark.

“The first step is to create awareness among the 45,000-strong populace on campus on the small things that they can do to reduce waste. We have thus put up posters for the same across campus, detailing our vision for a greener Technopark and inviting techies to join hands with us for the initiative for they are the main stakeholders in the game. The idea is to cut down on elimination and make techies aware of the concepts of segregating waste at source.

“For example, few people know that Milma milk covers are recyclable if they are washed and cleaned immediately after use. Throw them in with other food waste and they become completely unsalvageable. In this instance, a small effort on one’s part can bring down the amount of plastic waste,” adds Abhilash.

For segregating waste at source Technopark has handed out three bins coloured blue, green and red.

The green bin is for biodegradable items such as food waste and garden waste. The blue one is for non-biodegradable items such as tissue paper, torn cardboard and sanitary pads that can’t be re-used and which go straight into the incinerator. Meanwhile, the red one is for non-biodegradable but reusable items such as plastic bottles, which will later be picked up by collectors.

The facility is being maintained by Kochi-based CREDAI Clean City Movement, a non-profit NGO, under the aegis of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India, which ‘undertakes activities for up-gradation of civic amenities.’

“Ideally, based on consumption levels, Technopark generates around 3,000 kg of food waste a day, when it should ideally be only 2,500 kg. The excess, we’ve come to understand, is due to the extraordinarily large amount of food that is being wasted. Everyday in Technopark the collected waste is either converted into compost, both liquid and solid (slurry and organic manure that’s used in the Park itself) and biogas. The rest is brunt in the incinerator, the smoke of which is passed through a scrub so that it comes out non-toxic,” explains Jose Joseph, executive director, CREDAI Clean City Movement.

At present the waste collection is initiative is being implemented in Technopark-owned companies and buildings. Seeing the initiative’s success, Abhilash says that other companies and those who have their own buildings have now expressed interest in it.

There is however a larger plan. “We hope that our green initiative will give green ideas to techies and encourage them to think of the initiative as a model to replicate it in their homes,” says Abhilash.

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