The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Compost yard coming up in Tambaram

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Sunday, Jul 13, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Compost yard coming up in Tambaram

Special Correspondent

An NGO to operate the facility and residents will make monthly contributions

TAMBARAM: The Tambaram Municipality has taken the first step towards encouraging sound solid waste management practices and as part of this, it is constructing a compost yard to convert kitchen waste into manure in one of its 39 wards.

The shed, accommodating about a dozen pits, and a compound wall around it are being built on a piece of land belonging to the Municipality on Fifth Street, CTO Colony in West Tambaram.

According to D.V.Ramamurthy, councillor of Ward No. 32, in whose ward the facility is coming up, on completion of the compost yard it would be operated by Hand-in-Hand, a non-governmental organisation. They would be employing more than two dozen people to collect source segregated garbage from nearly all the 2,250 households in the ward.

Among the biggest wards in Tambaram, it has 167 streets in 33 localities and has a population of close to 15,000, Mr. Ramamurthy said. About seven tonnes of garbage was generated everyday in his ward alone. His was among the few wards where residents joined hands with the municipal administration a few years ago to ensure clean and green streets. Already, Rs.75,000 was spent on distributing two plastic buckets – a red and green – so that residents would find it easier to segregate kitchen waste and non-degradable waste.

Municipality officials said the compost yard and a compound wall were being built at a cost of Rs.5 lakh from the local body’s general funds. Once completed, the facility would be handed over to the NGO that would be collecting garbage and converting it to manure.

It was proposed to collect Rs. 25 from each of the households as handling and disposal charges.

They added that a formal function was planned as it was the first time a compost yard was being set up in Tambaram. Based on the response and feedback from different quarters, the model would be implemented in other wards too. But willingness on the part of residents to abide by source segregation and support from voluntary agencies or private firms was essential to take it forward, officials added.

There was pressure from various quarters as smaller urban and rural local bodies had implemented similar schemes long ago and this development comes as a welcome measure, Lakshmipuram residents said.

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