The Coimbatore Corporation is processing various proposals submitted by different agencies for generating energy from the waste.
Once a proposal was found suitable and implemented, it will provide a viable solution to the vexed issue of the Corporation Compost Yard at Vellalore, Deputy Commissioner of Coimbatore Corporation S. Sivarasu told The Hindu here on Friday.
When queried on which party would do the waste segregation, the Deputy Commissioner said that a decision will be taken after scrutinising the Expressions of Interests.
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The local body had a tie-up at present with a firm to process around 375 tonnes. The firm was engaged in converting the waste to manure. However, the results have been mixed, he said.
Between 800 and 850 tonnes were generated on a daily basis within the city limits. Of these, the non-biodegradable component such as plastic wastes would account for around 3 per cent. While low on quantity, he said that the plastic waste occupied a lot of space.
Evan as the civic body is pondering over a feasible solution to issue, a machinery equipment supplier, which was currently implementing a solid waste management at Kodunganallur Municipal Corporation, has mooted a similar proposal for Coimbatore.
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Explaining his project, K.K. Ajaykumar, proprietor of Global Machinery Supplier, said that the Auto Plastic Separation Module was designed to separate rubber and plastic and process them into a slurry form that could be used by farmers as fertilizers. The manure would be 99.5 per cent free of plastic.
Offering the equipment on a public-private partnership, he said that Coimbatore Corporation would only have to contribute a building and land while the company would bear the cost of installing the equipment. The company would also retain the by-products generated by the equipment.
The equipment, which has been accorded recognition by National Small Industries Council and the Industries Department of Kerala State Government, could also be designed to generate biogas. It could be designed to process waste from five to 5,000 tonnes per day. It could process different types of solid waste ranging from meat, fish and fibres, to elephant dung and plants. The plant required labour of one person per tonne of solid waste.
The Kodunganallur Municipality had extended the initial contract of 20 months by another five years following the results. There was no pollution in this process, which while developed indigenously, adhered to European standards, added Mr. Ajaykumar.