Wastes at the Vellalore dump yard are being processed according to rules, said Coimbatore Corporation in its response to a Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board directive. The board in its proceedings on December 26, 2013 said that after its Member Secretary inspected the Vellalore yard, it was found that though the average generation of “unsegregated” waste was 850 tonnes a day, the authorisation was only for 650 tonnes a day. The excess collection of waste and poor infrastructure led to dumping of waste within the premises without processing.
There was no evidence to suggest that waste was segregated at source as claimed by the corporation. There were no proper records on garbage received in Vellalore, quantity of manure generated, and residues dumped on the landfill site.
There was no systematic approach on composting process, leachate collection system and treatment of the leachate.
The corporation said that the waste management plant at Vellalore was able to treat the entire waste by working in multiple shifts.
Of the 850 tonnes received a day, around 150 tonnes was construction debris that did not reach the plant. There was another 50 tonnes bulk waste.
As for source segregation, the corporation said that it had conducted programmes to create awareness among citizens for waste segregation at source, and on a pilot basis had implemented the programme in Ward 23. The civic body was maintaining necessary records at the site and senior officials were regularly carrying out scrutiny of those records.
The corporation has put in place a good leachate system. There was adequate security provided at the site to prevent intruders from setting fire to waste. The refuse-derived fuel generated regularly was sold to cement companies, only waste that could not be treated was being dumped in landfill. The corporation was regularly monitoring the air quality.
The corporation has given details about its ‘Sunya’ waste management project too.
