With the handling of solid waste emerging as a challenge both in urban and rural areas, at least 8,000 houses, covering 84 apartments and other individual houses, are converting at least six tonnes of wet waste into compost daily in the city now.
With civil society members gradually responding to the need of the hour, two start-ups, Mangala Resource Management Pvt. Ltd., which functions under the guidance of Ramakrishna Mission, and Give Green Solutions, founded by social activist Jeeth Milan Roche, are in the forefront in assisting and guiding people to convert the wet waste into manure.
Ranjan Bellarpady, one of the five directors of Mangala Resource Management Pvt. Ltd., told The Hindu that 17 apartments with about 500 flats outsourced wet waste management to the start-up about eight months ago. The start-up is now converting at least 450 kg of their wet waste into manure daily using pot compost method which works out at an affordable cost.
Mr. Bellarpady said that each flat owner through the respective apartment owners association will have to deposit a refundable amount of ₹ 1,000 with the start-up for three years. In addition, each flat will have to pay ₹ 150 monthly to the start-up for handling wet waste which will be converted into compost by keeping the pots as one pot per flat on their own premises.
The laboratory testing has shown that the compost thus produced has the NPK level of 7.2. The start-up either sold the compost to farmers or to the apartments concerned at an affordable rate.
Swami Ekagamyananda of Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mission, who led the five-year Swachh Mangaluru campaign on a Swachh Bharat Mission call by the Union government, said that the mission had arranged for the distribution of 4,000 pots in the city last year for pot composting of wet waste. As a majority of them are using them, at least between two tonnes and three tonnes of wet waste is being converted into waste in those houses daily.
“Pot composting is the cheapest and affordable method for every one,” Swami Ekagamyananda said.
Mr. Roche said that his Give Green Solutions has installed bio-compost units in 42 apartments having about 2,500 flats and in 220 individual houses. Wet waste is digested with the help of microbes in those units. It has installed National Green Tribunal (NGT) approved electrical composters in five apartments having at least 300 flats.
He said that Give Green Solutions has installed the compost units on the campuses of St. Aloysius College and Father Muller Institutions and also in a mall.
“All put together at least five tonnes of wet waste is being converted into compost daily,” he said.
Environment Engineer of Mangaluru City Corporation Madhu S. Manohar said that apart from the houses and establishments covered by the two start-ups, about 20 apartments having at least 500 flats in the city have installed compost units on their own.
Different technologies of converting wet waste into compost are available now, he said.
The corporation is now offering 50 % rebate in solid waste management cess under property tax for such houses and establishments that convert wet waste into compost, Mr. Manohar said.
