Kerala - Kochi   

Water-logged areas being reclaimed

KOCHI: Reclamation of waterlogged areas at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant site has become the priority of Kochi Corporation, as pressure is on the civic body to have a permanent system for handling non-degradable waste.

Once the land reclamation is completed, at least 25 acres would be available for sanitary landfill and this area will be sufficient for handling the non-degradable waste generated by the city, said Mini Antony, secretary of the Kochi Corporation.

Sanitary landfill is one of the options before the Kochi Corporation for dealing with plastic and other non-degradable waste. The Corporation is also in the process of setting up a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) unit at the Brahmapuram site.

The tendering process for landfill for a major share of the water-logged area has been completed. The Corporation will tender the work for the last stretch of area, which will come to nearly 20 acres, before July 22, Ms. Antony said.

Paloli Muhammad Kutty, the Minister for Local Administration, had suggested that the land at Brahmapuram should be used for storing plastic waste. He had also suggested that the plastic should be bundled and pressed into blocks for storing at the site until the RDF plant becomes operational.

Meanwhile, the Government suggestion has come as a relief for the district administration which has been asked to handle the waste management from the days of crisis.

The district administration is of the view that once the plastic is stored at the Brahmapuram plant site, the management of the plastic waste would naturally become the responsibility of the Kochi Corporation.

This is because of the fact that the plant site is owned by the Kochi Corporation and any storage of the waste and other refuses there should be the responsibility of the civic body. The Brahmapuram plant has been treating an average of 160-tonnes biodegradable waste at the site, said Ms. Antony.

The production of bio manure from the plant will take more time than anticipated due to the excess moisture content in the waste, said S. Kesavan Nair, general manager (operations) of HYQUIP, the agency that has undertaken the setting up and management of the plant.

In normal conditions, the garbage would be converted into bio-manure in 45 days. However, the water content in the waste generated by the city is on the higher side. The humid conditions prevailing in the city following the monsoon showers has also delayed the conversion of waste into manure.

With the given atmospheric conditions and the increased water content, it may take at least 55 days for waste to be processed completely into manure at the plant, Mr. Nair said. The marketing of the manure would not be an issue in Kochi as the company was having bulk orders, he said.

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