Kinnigoli: The wet and dry waste disposal process within the Kinnigoli Town Panchayat limits has now gained significant momentum. While dry waste segregated at the Menna bettu waste management plant is being dispatched to Bengaluru, wet waste is being processed and converted into manure.
Although legacy waste at the unit is still pending disposal, special measures are being taken to process newly collected garbage on a daily basis.
Boost from a new system
A Bengaluru-based firm from Kerala has taken up a six-month contract for waste disposal at the Menna bettu plant. Wet and dry waste from the 18 wards of the Town Panchayat is collected using four vehicles. A total of 25 permanent and contract workers are deployed for the operations.
Vehicle schedules have been fixed at the ward level, according to which collections are made from houses and commercial establishments. Following the formation of the Kinnigoli Town Panchayat, the number of houses and large residential complexes has risen, resulting in a daily collection of 6 tonnes of dry waste and 1 tonne of wet waste.
How dry waste is disposed of
The collected garbage is brought to the 1.71-acre waste disposal plant set up in Menna bettu. There, a machine is used to segregate dry waste into 8 categories for storage.
Materials like plastic, cloth, cardboard, thin plastic, and bottles are segregated through the sorting machine, compressed under high pressure, packed, and transported.
The plant has been functioning systematically for the past month, during which nearly 30 tonnes of waste has been transported to Bengaluru. Simultaneously, 5 loads of waste per day are being sent to alternative locations on a temporary basis.
Legacy waste remains untouched
Solid waste accumulated during the erstwhile Gram Panchayat period, prior to the formation of the Town Panchayat, remains pending without proper disposal. Furthermore, due to the absence of an elected administrative body in the Town Panchayat, certain issues cropped up, leaving heaps of wet and dry waste piled up. A separate blueprint is being drawn up for the clearance of this legacy waste.
Plastic ban from June 1
The ban on single-use plastic will come into effect within the Kinnigoli Town Panchayat limits from June 1, and awareness campaigns regarding this are underway.
Measures are being taken to curb the habit of littering on roadsides, and residents are being sensitized to segregate wet and dry waste before handing it over to the collection vehicles.
Manure from wet waste
"Measures have been implemented for garbage disposal in the town limits, and waste must be handed over after segregating it into wet and dry categories. Collected wet waste is pulverized in two stages using machinery, sieved, and converted into manure for sale. This organic manure can be used for agricultural purposes and is being packed and sold on a per-kilogram basis." - Jayashankar Prasad, Chief Officer, Kinnigoli
Tender for legacy waste disposal
"A tender worth approximately Rs 53 lakh has been floated for the disposal of legacy waste. The process was delayed due to technical issues at the district level. In the first phase, waste is being sorted into 8 categories using the newly arrived machine. A few more machinery installations are pending. A transformer required to operate the machinery needs to be installed." - Gururaj Malligeyangadi, President, Kinnigoli Town Panchayat
- Raghunath Kamath Kenchenakere