The stench emanating from heaps of garbage dotting Eloor municipality may be a thing of the past if the local body turns to decentralised means of waste disposal such as aerobic composting.
“With the municipality calling off collection of waste in the wake of resistance from residents near the municipal dumping yard near Kuzhikkandam canal, people have begun to dump waste at Pathalam, Kuttikkattukara road and on either side of the container road. It is a tough situation demanding immediate remedy,” said K.N. Velayudhan, councillor.
Waste disposal has always been a teething issue for the fledgling municipality, which till about a few years ago was a panchayat. The original plan was to transport waste collected from the municipal area to the waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram, which has been on the sickbed from the very beginning, for disposal.
“It is incorrect to say that Brahmapuram has refused to take garbage from Eloor. Reports suggesting the same are ill-motivated. The Brahmapuram plant has been under pressure and fighting its own battle for survival. Which is why we have now come up with a short-term solution for immediate relief from garbage mounts and a permanent solution for the longer-term,” said chairman of the municipality P.M. Ayoob.
The short-term plan, he said, involves operation of an incinerator for five days next week. “The State’s Clean Kerala Company has agreed to position its incinerator on land owned by the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) for less than a week for the purpose. We have sought FACT’s permission to do this,” he said.
Decentralised waste management offers the long-term solution. “We are trying to replicate the
Thumboormuzhi Model Aerobic Composting Technique. The proposal has received technical clearance from the District Planning Committee (DPC) and we intend to set up aerobic compositing plants at Pathalam, Puthiya Road, Manjummal, Vadakkubhagam, Eloor ferry and one more place [which will be identified later] in a month’s time. The issue will be discussed at the council and efforts will be taken to see if this can be handed over to Kerala SIDCO for implementation.”
The success of the project in places like Alappuzha is what has inspired the municipality to explore this model, Mr. Ayoob said.
