In a bid to sustain zero waste initiatives, a few local bodies on the city’s fringes are implementing biomining projects to reclaim dump yards and convert them into parks and other facilities.
The dump yards in these localities were running out of space and posing an environmental threat. As a step to source segregation and setting up micro composting units, the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration is now implementing the biomining projects in local bodies such as Avadi and Pammal.
Segregation of waste
Officials of the CMA said the biomining process is a technique used for segregation of useful materials from mounds of garbage. The project is expected to start in February at Avadi.
The biomining plant would have machinery to segregate the garbage into various categories. While recyclable waste would be sent to the cement factories, recycling units and composting units, waste such as discarded clothes, non-recyclable plastics, cotton and cardboard would be used to produce refuse-derived fuel. This could be used to power industrial boilers, the officials said.
The dump yard in Sekkadu, which is now being used by Avadi municipality, has nearly 52,000 metric tonnes of garbage heaped up across 11 acres. The local body has managed to implement source segregation in 80% of its area and residents complain that door-to-door collection needs to be improved. The municipality generates about 90 metric tonnes of garbage daily.
Officials said efforts are on to purchase nearly 136 battery-operated vehicles and about 30 vehicles for garbage collection. “We are now transporting 20-30% of the garbage generated daily to the dump yard as source segregation is not yet fully implemented,” said an official.
With the help of the biomining plant that has a capacity to tackle up to 400 tonnes a day, the local body expects to reclaim the dump site in a year. There are plans to turn the dump site into a park and set up staff quarters. While the Sembakkam dump yard, which is part of the Sembakkam lake, would be handed over to Water Resources Department, the one in Pammal is on private land.
