THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, January 28, 2012
The Hindu The present
dumping ground at the Vilapilsala Garbage Plant.The partially constructed
Unaerobic tank for the Leache Treatment Plant is also seen in the backgorund.
Photo: S. Gopakumar
Stress need for its uprade and proper management
If properly managed and operated, the Vilappilsala plant can be
upgraded as the best solid-waste treatment plant in the country, experts have
said.
Once the leachate treatment plant and sanitary landfill inside
the plant are commissioned, the Vilappilsala plant can become a model waste
treatment plant, they have said..
“The windrow composting technology used in the Vilappilsala plant
is undoubtedly the best available technology for processing biodegradable
waste. It is an internationally accepted organic-waste-processing technology,
which is also mooted by the Union Ministry of Environment,” Babu Ambat,
executive director of the Centre for Environment and Development (CED), said. CED, an agency providing technical support to waste treatment
plants in various States, has been operating the plant for the Thiruvananthapuram
city Corporation for the past four years.
Mr. Ambat said the plant at Vilappilsala, designed and
constructed by the Poabson Group, was one of the best in the State. “There have
been issues of space in the processing plant as it was not enough to properly
process the 250 tonnes of waste that was brought to the plant daily. This was
also the reason for the odour problem there (because of lack of aeration
facility). But now, the area of the processing plant is being doubled to two
lakh sq.ft,” he said.
Social activist and rural technology exponent R.V.G. Menon said
that unlike high-technology solutions such as pyrolisis and incineration,
composting, as done in Vilappilsala, was best suited for treatment of
biodegradable waste in the State.
“The biodegradable waste generated in our climatic condition has
about 70 per cent moisture. But for technologies such as pyrolisis and
incineration, dry waste is best suited as it has high energy content. Experts
all over the world say that the best technology for organic waste with high
moisture content is composting or biogas,” Mr. Menon said.
‘Proper aeration'
He, however, said the composting facility at Vilappilsala could
be upgraded by facilitating proper aeration. In the case of plastic waste, the
Corporation could think of transporting plastic to recycling units outside the
State after converting them into pellets using plastic shredders.
“Segregating plastic and organic waste is pertinent. Although
plastic shredders can be installed at Vilappilsala, it should be ensured that
it is properly segregated and does not get into the composting facility,” he
said.
While the experts concede that decentralised waste treatment
facilities in different parts of the city are required to bring down the volume
of waste transported to Vilappilsala, a centralised treatment plant is also
inevitable for a city such as Thiruvananthapuram.
Social and environmental activist B.R.P. Bhaskar said that while
the conventional method of taking the entire municipal waste for processing to
far-off villages was not feasible in the State because of its sheer density of
population, source-level processing was also only a partial solution.
“Not all waste generated in a household can be treated there.
That is why we require an integrated method of decentralised and centralised
facility. The Vilappilsala plant can be reopened as a centralised plant, but
only after the authorities convince the people there and assure them that the
plant will henceforth be properly managed without endangering their health or
environment,” he said.
Mr. Menon said that as long as the issues at the Vilappilsala
plant remained unresolved, there would be public opposition to setting up
plants elsewhere.
“The Vilappilsala plant can no more be treated as a dump of the
city. The volume of waste taken to the plant has to be brought down
significantly,” said Costford director P.B. Sajan.
Mr. Sajan put forth a novel idea to ensure efficient management
of the plant. “Why not involve the Vilappil panchayat in the plant operation.
This way, they can ensure that the plant is properly managed and also make it
an income generating initiative by selling the manure produced there. The
Corporation should, of course, pay the operational expenses,” he said.
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