Bio-mining of legacy waste to be done at Vairapalayam compost yard

A study finds that 40,000 cubic metre of waste were present below the ground

Legacy waste being removed from Vairapalayam compost yard in Erode for bio-mining on Tuesday.

As much as 40,000 cubic metre of legacy waste at the Vairapalayam compost yard found below the ground would soon be bio-mediated after which the portion of the River Cauvery would be restored.

Unsegregated municipal solid waste collected from residential areas and commercial establishments were dumped at the yard for the past 60 years which had accumulated to 90,000 cubic metre. Waste is dumped on a 7.4 acre land by encroaching a portion of the river in all these years as leachate from the dump seeps into the ground and pollutes the river. Under the Smart City Mission project, the civic body appointed-private company have began bio-mining the waste from August last year and work is nearing completion. Since waste could have been present below the ground, an expert team from Anna University, Chennai, conducted a study that found that 40,000 cubic metre of legacy waste were present up to ten feet depth in the ground. On Monday, Justice P. Jothimani, chairman of National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Regional Monitoring Committee for Solid Waste Management (Southern States), who inspected the yard, asked the civic body to expedite the bio-mining process so that the portion of the river is restored at the earliest.

Corporation Commissioner M. Elangovan told

The Hindu

that bio-mining of the legacy waste above the ground would be completed soon after which the legacy waste below the ground would be cleared and bio-mined. Work would be completed in two months time and the portion of the river would be restored, he added.