A Kerala-based company has expressed interest in establishing a meat waste processing plant in Salem and has requested one acre of land for the project . The Salem Corporation has formed a committee to study the proposal.
Of the 550 tonnes of garbage generated daily in Salem Corporation limits, 319 tonnes are sent to micro composting centres (MCC) and 25 tonnes are incinerated. The remaining garbage is dumped at the Chettichavadi dump yard.
Collecting meat waste is a challenge for the Corporation since most shops dispose of the waste near water bodies, sewage channels or the roadside. The civic body is taking action against meat shops that engage in such practices and imposing fines. On a daily basis, the shops produce an estimated five tonnes of waste and this figure increases to 10 tonnes on Sundays across the 60 wards.
At present, the state has two meat processing plants, of which one is based in Coimbatore. Kerala, on the other hand, has three meat processing plants, and a company based in Kerala has approached the Corporation seeking an acre of land to set up a meat processing unit at a cost of ₹1 crore.
The Corporation has formed a committee to study the proposal submitted by the private company. The committee includes Salem City Health Officer, Salem City Enginner, executive engineer (scheme), a professor from Anna University, and an environmental engineer from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The committee will analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the plant and submit a report. After getting consent from the Corporation, the private company will apply to TNPCB for consent to establish and once it fulfils the instructions of the Department, it will receive the consent to operate, said the officials.
The company has given its assurance that the trial run of the processing unit will begin in three months after getting permission from the Salem Corporation and the TNPCB. The company will collect all the meat waste from the shops. Salem City Health Officer (CHO), N. Yoganand, has said that the proposal is still in the early stages.
