The past few nights have been uncomfortable for residents of HSR Layout who say that the stench emanating from the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) plant has been particularly acrid. The odour emanating from the plant has been an ongoing problem, but this time around, civic officials have promised that the quality of air will improve. The reason for the stench, they said, was on account of a new odour-control mechanism involving a microbial solution that it is currently being put in place.
According to employees at the plant, the odour is owing to clearing of backlog waste, mainly leachate. Once this is done, the microbial solution will ensure odour-free composting in another 10 days.
For the past two years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been spraying lemongrass solution onto waste piles to control the odour even as the installation of bio-filters is yet to be completed. Using lemongrass oil, however, is considered ineffective and not eco-friendly, forcing BBMP to now shift to a microbial treatment.
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Ragini Jain, a bioremediation and leachate process expert with the Swachh Bharath Mission, has been roped in as a consultant for managing odour at the city’s waste processing units and landfills. “Lemongrass oil is thick and consumes a lot of water as it has to be diluted, leading to enormous amounts of leachate. Moreover, it is a combustible edible oil,” said Ms. Jain, adding that the microbial solution, which is a commercial product, uses very little water and controls odour.
“The solution when sprayed on a waste pile leads to increase in temperature up to 50 degrees Celsius within 24 hours, hastening the composting process. The solution digests even the leachate leaving no foul odour,” Ms. Jain said.
“Mumbai, Nagpur and several cities in Gujarat have been using the technology with much success, prompting us to experiment it here as well,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, adding that the microbial solution was already being used in landfill quarries of the city to success.
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Residents unconvinced
Residents are not buying the explanation; the deployment of table fans at the plant does little to inspire confidence, they say. Kamesh Rastogi, who lives in the area, said that on Monday night, the family, especially his child, felt suffocated with the stench. “This has become a routine these days,” he said.
Kavita Reddy, another resident and associated with the ruling Congress, said that the odour has increased with the new experimentation. “BBMP cannot experiment on people. The fans are deployed to control the rising temperature in the plant, causing fears,” she said. However, Ms. Jain claimed that the fans were deployed to let the floor of the plant dry after all leachate has been cleaned and were only a temporary measure.