Chennai: Waste Management

[karkal]

Huge protests at Chennai's largest garbage dump

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/new...413?v_also_see

[karkal]

Waste factories on the fast track

Facilities in Kuthambakkam and Minjur to be ready in 18 months

By the second half of 2014, solid waste generated in the city may no longer be transported to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards.

As proposed by the Chennai Corporation, work will soon begin on solid waste management plants in Kuthambakkam and Minjur in the outskirts of the city.

Once the project is completed, over 2,500 tonnes of garbage from the southern zones of the city will be transported to the facility in Kuthambakkam. Another 2,000 tonnes from the northern parts of the city will be taken to the Minjur plant.

This is part of the Corporation’s three-pronged integrated solid waste management initiative that comprises improved conservancy operations in the city, setting up garbage recycling factories in the outskirts and reversing the damage done to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards.

The State government has now given administrative sanction to the Corporation’s initiative.

On January 18, the civic body will hold a pre-bid meeting for setting up the waste management plants. The facilities in Kuthambakkam and Minjur will be readied in 18 months or less, a Corporation official said.

The design and mode of operation of the waste management plants will also be decided at the January 18 meeting.

As many as 16 companies are expected to participate.

The third component of the waste management initiative — remediation and scientific closure of Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards — will be undertaken after the new facilities commence operation.

The technology adopted by the new plants will not pollute neighbourhoods around Kuthambakkam and Minjur, an official of the Chennai Corporation said.

The civic body’s existing garbage handling practices have drawn flak in recent times. Air and groundwater pollution apart, on more than one occasion, fires have broken out in the existing dumping yards putting the lives of residents in danger.

[karkal]

OMR residents go on trash-busting drives

CHENNAI: For nine months, GV Krishnan, a resident of Mantri Synergy in Padur, watched as a heap of garbage piled up outside the gate of his apartment complex. "People would walk past it, dump garbage, it was as if they could not even see the garbage piling up and spilling over," says Krishnan.

Four months ago, Krishnan decided he had enough, then he and a few of his neighbours cleared the heap themselves. "And that was how OMR Greens was formed," says group co-founder Gopalan Ramanujam, a retired bank manager. At least two Sundays a month since September 2012, the OMR Greens group has been going on "trash-busting" drives as they call it, all over Padur and Kelambakkam and are now looking at expanding to other parts of Old Mahabalipuram Road. To add visibility to their activities the group has a blog, a Facebook page and YouTube postings of their outings.

"I have been living in Padur for 18 months," says Ramanujam. "The place is like a village where there has been a sudden spurt in infrastructure with so many apartments coming up. We realised there is no point in waiting for the government to do something. We wanted to do our bit," he adds.

While OMR Greens began with just Mantri residents, it has now grown to include residents from other apartment complexes, local store owners, auto-rickshaw drivers, students from nearby colleges as well as members of the area's panchayats.

B Kumar, for instance, who owns Saravana Medicals, on OMR, decided to join in and has been on two of the garbage drives apart from supplying gloves and masks at cost price to people in the group. "I heard about the group when they came to buy gloves and masks from me. I supply it to them as well as go along on the drives," says Kumar. And adds, "I have been here for a long time. It is good that someone is finally trying to clean up the place."

C Geetha Devi, an assistant professor in the electrical engineering department of Hindustan University, also joined the group along with her students. "In our college we have a Clean Padur, Clean OMR campaign. So we make it a point to group with OMR Greens whenever we can," says Devi.

In their most recent event, the group cleaned the trash near the Sai Temple at Kelambakkam. The area's panchayat president, G Venkatesan, even leant support with his staff. "They are helping us. When they come, they clean the entire area. It is my job to support them, to welcome them," he says.

Apart from clearing the garbage, Ramanujam says the group is also looking at setting up a viable waste management system, which they say is sorely lacking in the area.

[murlee]

Chennai inches closer to being a cleaner metro

As the garbage woes do not show any signs of reducing in the 15 zones, the civic body has taken a slew of measures including recrui*t*ment of temporary conservancy workers and buying tricycles to collect garbage.

In December, minister for municipal administration and rural development K.P. Munusamy had reviewed the functioning of all 15 zones and had also ordered officials to immediately call for tenders to procure garbage bins, tricycles and vehicles to carry out conservancy works.

According to Ripon Buil*ding sources, councillors had been complaining of lack of garbage bins in their wards and that the civic body has tak*en steps imme*di*ately after the re*v*iew meeting and invited bids.

The civic body will soon procure 2470 tricycles at Rs12,990 each. Apart from th*is, the Chennai corporation has recruited 260 temporary conservancy workers.

A councillor who did not want to be named said, “The lack of conservancy workers is a major problem in many wards. We are un*able to find workers on contract as the wage rate offe*red is very less. In ma*ny wa*rds that come under ne*wly added areas, there’s not even a single new gar*bage bin.”

There are only 9,530 permanent conservancy workers and 570 temporary wor*kers in all 15 zones.

While zone 2, Manali, has only seven permanent employees, Zone 8 Anna Nagar has 2,127 permanent employees. A corporation official pointed out that in many zones private contractors had recruited wor*k*ers.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/13011...-cleaner-metro

[Indian Sun]

Originally Posted by murlee

Chennai inches closer to being a cleaner metro

Oh.

[madrasi7777]

Hope this works out soon or it will be inching away to the other side

Originally Posted by murlee

Chennai inches closer to being a cleaner metro




http://www.deccanchronicle.com/13011...-cleaner-metro

[innovator]

In new grid road system is there any plans for public bins ?

There should be a bin for at least 200meters on either side of the road.

[murlee]

Night conservancy to cover every bus route in city soon

Commuters and pedestrians who have an early start to the day will soon find all bus routes clean at dawn.

All bus routes in the city will soon have night conservancy, said a senior official of the Chennai Corporation on Monday. The Corporation is likely to mobilise manpower, equipment and other resources required for the purpose.

Currently, the civic body carries out night conservancy on roads along market areas. Many of the zones use only around two per cent of the work force for night conservancy. Many also deploy a few compactors and tricycles for night conservancy.

As the civic body has planned to purchase 53 small compactors in addition to the existing 156 equipment, a number of such compactors are likely to be used to improve night conservancy. A few big compactors and a number of tricycles will also be used.

The city generates around 4900 tonnes of garbage every day. If night conservancy improves, more than 2000 tonnes are likely to be cleared before dawn.

Three years ago, the Chennai Corporation Council passed a resolution to commence conservancy operations during the nights in commercial areas. Conservancy staff was asked to begin work at 9 p.m. and finish by 2 a.m.

However, the aspiration of residents to have clean roads in the mornings remained a distant dream. The Council in 2010 had even identified areas such as Tiruvottiyur High Road, Rajaji Salai, NSC Bose Road, Anna Salai, Kodambakkam High Road, South Usman Road, South West Boag Road, Pulla Avenue, Kilpauk Garden Road and Jones Road in Saidapet for night conservancy. Corporation officials attributed the practice of dumping of garbage by commercial establishments by 9 a.m. to the failure of night conservancy on many stretches. Existing challenges to night conservancy include inadequate cooperation by commercial establishments towards cleaning their premises at night. Over 95 percent of the properties on bus routes are commercial establishments.

Employees involved in night conservancy will not work during the day. But women employees will not be required to participate in night conservancy operations, said an official of the Corporation. Night conservancy on bus routes near slum localities of some zones still carries a degree of risk, he said.

The expanded city limits have around 350 km of bus routes of which many stretches are in market areas. Total length of interior roads maintained by the Corporation is 5563 km.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle4379551.ece

[saysenthil]

Power generation from waste in city

Tamilnadu Local Administration Minister K P Munusamy today informed the Assembly that the State government was taking necessary steps to use scientific methods to handle garbage generated in Corporation, Municipality and Town Panchayat areas.

He also said that attempts were on to kickstart a scheme which would enable generation of electricity from garbage in the limits of Chennai Corporation.

Replying to queries raised by legislators of various political parties in the Assembly, he said that three plans were being taken into consideration to handle garbage dumped in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur in the city.

'All local bodies have been instructed to handle garbage using scientific methods. We have told them not to burn waste. Scientific training is also being provided,' he said.

Stating that the Chennai metropolis (including the recently added areas) generates 4,600 metric tonne garbage on a daily basis, Munusamy said that out of the total 4,600 metric tonnes, 2,500 was being dumped in Perungudi and 2,000 in Kodungaiyur.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has instructed to implement a solid waste management scheme to handle the garbage, the Minister said and added that following her orders, three plans were under consideration and waste would be handled without burning.

'Plans are on to kickstart a project to produce power from garbage in Chennai Corporation limits. If found successful, it will be extended to Municipalities,' he said.

Munusamy said that officers and workers were employed round the clock in Kodungaiyur. 'A fire tender has been also been stationed and three bore wells were dug to meet the water needs,' he said.

Stating that proper road facility was also there to dispose off the garbage, the Minister said that necessary equipment has also been provided to the workers. 'Gloves and slippers have been given to the employees there,' he said.

He said that Rs 6.40 crore has been allocated to Salem Corporation in the last two financial years to buy vehicles to carry and segregate garbage.

'The Chief Minister has sanctioned Rs 500 crore to remove and dispose garbage in Chennai city and Rs 750 crore to other areas,' Munusamy said.

[karkal]

Cement road to be laid at Kodungaiyur dumpyard

This will improve access to fire-hit areas

The government is implementing a slew of measures, including laying of a cement road at a cost of Rs. 5.59 crore in Kodungaiyur dump yard, to stop fires due to burning of garbage at dumps. Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development K.P. Munusamy announced this at the Assembly on Wednesday. The road will help ease access to areas where fires break out.

The Minister was responding to CPI (M) floor leader A. Soundararajan, who complained about the emission of 19 types of harmful chemicals from the burning of garbage and inadequate facilities to extinguish the fire.

Mr. Soundararajan said there was no proper road to reach the affected areas when the fire broke out.

“It is as if we need a helicopter to put out the fire,” he said.

Mr. Munusamy said the unwanted elements that gain entry into the garbage yard are being evacuated by the police and that a fire-fighting wagon is always on the spot.

Besides, the government had employed five earth-movers and bulldozers to remove garbage mounds that were now preventing the mobility of vehicles. Three deep bore wells were being dug to supply the necessary water to put out the fire.

The Minister said a separate road was being laid for movement of vehicles carrying garbage to the yard at a cost of Rs. 65 lakh and tenders had been called for laying a cement road to reach interior areas of the yard.

“The work in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur is being monitored from the headquarters and the government has installed equipment at a cost of Rs 10.24 lakh,” he said.

Keywords: Kodungaiyur dump yard, road laying work

[murlee]

Scientists sell biogas idea for waste management in Chennai Corporation

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has knocked on the doors of the Chennai Corporation to sell its garbage segregation technology.

On Saturday, a few BARC scientists met with officials of the civic body and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for commissioning of its indigenously-developed Nisargruna biogas plants in the city.

If implemented here, the technology may be a step in the right direction to revive source segregation of garbage. The team from BARC sought commissioning of the plant in Koyambedu market complex. CMDA shoulders the responsibility of garbage clearance in the market complex.

The Chennai Corporation is yet to make a decision on using the technology as it has a few options before it. Around 4,900 tonnes of waste is generated in the Chennai Corporation limits every day.

The BARC technology is likely to be yet another option for generating energy using waste. The technology will also help to light up streetlights using the energy generated.

Around 30 per cent of municipal solid waste is biodegradable. A tonne of biodegradable waste can produce 25-30 kg of methane, about 150 kg of carbon dioxide and 50-60 kg of organic manure.

Methane-enriched biogas can be used to generate electricity or heat. The technology offers a decentralised way of garbage disposal as 300 sq. ft. of land in a locality is enough to process one tonne of waste every day.

Residents will have to segregate the waste for the project to be successful. This is the most challenging aspect of the project.

BARC, Mumbai, has developed the technology to process biodegradable waste resource materials originating in kitchens, markets and abattoirs. Yet another aspect of the technology is its ability to generate resource even from hazardous biological sludge. The technology is said to be relatively simple and does not involve imports.

BARC claimed the plants could be operated by unskilled workers after they are trained for a month. The plants can also serve as power houses in fringe areas of the city.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle4397715.ece

[krishnaswamy]

At Rs. 2/kg, this is no cheap trash

Homes in the city have started to sell waste for a price. Starting Monday, residents of some roads in Perambur opted to sell their waste including vegetable waste for Rs.2 per kg. This has been facilitated by NGOs with the support of the Chennai Corporation. Members of the NGOs, carrying weighing machines, purchased waste at the doorstep of residents in some stretches of Perambur. The members of the NGOs have planned to procure waste from residents and hand over money on the spot.

The sale of waste on Monday covered just a few streets, yet it is an indication of the path the Chennai Corporation will take in the future. A senior official of the Chennai Corporation said the civic body has decided to intensify source segregation to cope with the garbage problem.

The civic body has accepted proposals from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for installation of biogas plants by promoting source segregation. It is also planning to put in place a system for rewarding residents who support source segregation with cash amounts on a periodic basis. Some of the top contributors to source segregation will be selected based on a lucky draw for the cash award to be announced periodically. This will motivate residents to contribute to source segregation, the official said.

The city will soon be covered by more NGOs and a variety of such plants to promote source segregation.

[karkal]

Protest erupts as smoke shrouds Kodungaiyur

As garbage goes up in flames in dumping yard, residents demand solution to chronic problem

Residents of Kodungaiyur will perhaps have lost count of the number of times they have staged protests demanding that the Chennai Corporation stop dumping garbage in their backyard.



On Sunday morning, with a thick haze of smoke enveloping their locality thanks to burnt waste, around 200 residents staged a flash protest and blocked traffic on the Bharathidasan Road demanding that the Corporation’s dumping yard be shifted elsewhere. They agreed to go back to their homes only after the police intervened.

As residents coughed and wheezed about their daily routine, smoke shrouded homes falling within at least a kilometre of the yard. Motorists, who had to use the roads in the area, were seen waging a losing battle to keep from inhaling smoke.

Kantha, a resident of the area, said her joint family had been living there for over 10 years now. “We have seven children in our house and they constantly fall sick. The children have breathing problems and are even unable to climb stairs or play. Our lives are miserable here but we have nowhere else to go,” she said.

R. Kalaiarasi her neighbour said they were unable to turn on the fans inside the house as the smoke kept swirling around. “Everything smells of smoke. We can’t even cook as it smells acrid. We will continue to hold protests until something is done,” she said.

Dharmesh Shah of Chennai-based Community Environmental Monitoring said that while most municipalities across the country were striving to introduce practices such as composting, biogas and decentralised waste management, the Chennai Corporation has failed to come up with any long-term solutions to deal with its mounting problem of garbage disposal. The only way out was to keep organic waste out of the dump yard by diverting it to composting and biogas facilities, which the city lacks, he added.

A source at the Corporation said their staff was attending to the problem with heavy machinery. “Four earth-movers are working on quenching the fire. We are constantly monitoring the situation,” he said.

Currently, 100 acres of the 269-acre plot in Kodungaiyur is used to dump garbage.

Govt. proposal

Recently, the State government announced a slew of measures to deal with constant outbreak of fires in the yard. A cement road is to be laid at a cost of Rs. 5.59 crore that will help provide access to areas where fires break out. Five earth-movers and bulldozers will be used to flatten the mounds of garbage that block vehicle access. A fire tender will be kept at the site in readiness to deal with an outbreak.

Keywords: Kodungaiyur, Chennai garbage issues, Chennai Corporation

[murlee]

Organic waste to manure in 21 days

What you toss out as organic waste from your homes may feed gardens! In a novel effort, a youngster in Chennai has created an equipment that converts organic waste into manure in 21 days.

Abdul Kani, son of railway employee, D Khaleel, finished his MBA at 2005 from Indian School of Management.

He got a job at a leading private bank for the monthly salary of Rs 30,000. Like every youth, Kani also enjoyed a corporate lifestyle. However, after three years of working in a routine job, he decided that he wanted to do something to do different — and quit, to take up a social cause.

It was later that he was struck with the idea of solid waste management technology, which can be done easily in one’s home.

The 20-year-old has created a small hexagon shaped instrument — five feet in length and 2.5 feet in height, with a manual rotor.

He demonstrated the equipment on Monday, at the residence of Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-chairman of CTS, who had lent support to the novel effort.

Organic material like kitchen wastes, dry leaves from the garden and flowers used for pooja, can be collected in a separate bin and crushed with an ‘organic waste crusher’, a small tool used for crushing.

After crushing, the waste is converted to a solid paste,’’ said Kani. He added, “If you put 10kgs of solid waste for crushing, this can be reduced to one kg of solid paste.’’

The paste is added with lime powder and saw dust, put into the hexagon instrument and rotated for a few minutes.

After 21 days, the solid paste decomposes into manure which can be used for gardening, explained Kani. He further added, “This is the first time in India, that a green technology has been developed to manage waste at a source level.’’

If every household is equipped with this handy solid waste management device, garbage clearance work done by the Corporation can be reduced.

Like the rainwater harvesting system, the government should implement an act where every household or apartment block must have solid waste management technology, says Abdul Kani. He hopes to have one lakh homes use this equipment and make Chennai a green and waste-free city.

Further details can be had at 994100678.

http://newindianexpress.com/cities/c...cle1459638.ece

[The Constantine]

Nice topic to discuss on but before going to discuss waste management everyone should know there individual responsibility.

[proprashanth]

Recycling garbage dump can give govt. good income.. separating plastics, metal etc..

[saysenthil]

Corporation brainstorms with experts

NGOs to pitch in with solutions

The Chennai Corporation has intensified efforts to chalk out a strategy to cope with emerging challenges of solid waste management.

Fire in dumping yards, protests by residents and conservancy challenges associated with privatisation of operations have turned out to be causes of concern for the civic body.

Senior officials of the civic body have sought advice from experts at research institutions including IIT, Anna University and city NGOs. One of such meetings with NGOs was organised at the Ripon Buildings on Wednesday.

Organisations such as Cities Development Initiatives for Asia (CDIA) participated in Wednesday’s meeting. CDIA is a regional initiative that provides a range of international and domestic expertise to cities including support for preparation of pre-feasibility studies of high-priority infrastructure investment projects.

The firms that will set up new solid waste management plants in Kuthambakkam and Minjur are likely to be finalised shortly. As the work is expected to commence by May, the civic body is likely to soon chalk out a strategy for solid waste management with the help of experts.

The strategy would include devising simple methods to cope with problems such as pollution and fires in dumping yards, and protests by residents.

By the end of 2014, solid waste generated in the city will be transported to Kuthambakkam and Minjur where new plants will be commissioned. Once the facilities are in place, over 2,500 tonnes of garbage from the southern zones of the city will be transported to Kuthambakkam. Another 2,000 tonnes from the northern parts of the city will be taken to Minjur.

[arun82]

Originally Posted by proprashanth

Recycling garbage dump can give govt. good income.. separating plastics, metal etc..

Most of the garbage which reaches the dump yard cannot be reused. Most of the recyclable waste are collected by the rag pickers

Most people will collect the recyclable waste in Ganny bags and cash it with scrap dealers.

If the waste has to be reduced. Make scrap dealers as collection points for non recyclable plastic like carry bags, food covers.

Every product has to be analysed on the packaging used. They have to be asked to move to recyclable plastic packaging. use of water packets, plastic glass, thermocol bowls, thin plastic flim has to be banned.


Organic waste will decompose on its own.

[kannan infratech]

During the past one month, the quality of cleaning the streets have gone up really well esp in Adyar & Mylapore areas.

Ramky or CoC ?

[murlee]

Waste management plant in Kuthambakkam soon?

Of the 10 bids received by Chennai Corporation from private companies for the setting up of such plants to process municipal solid waste, six have proposed that such a facility be set up in Kuthambakkam. The four other companies had named Minjur as their preferred locality.

The bids were from the 10 companies short-listed by the civic body to tackle the growing problem of waste disposal in the city. Kuthambakkam, which has a 99-acre plot of land identified for the project, is significantly larger than Minjur’s 67-acre plot. Most of the city’s waste is likely to be processed in the proposed Kuthambakkam plant.

Initially more than 2,500 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in the southern parts of the city will be processed in Kuthambakkam, which is preferred for its easy access. Kuthambakkam is just 10 km from Poonamallee.

The facility will convert the waste into compost and will also generate energy from waste. However, preference will be given to the waste-to-energy technology. The tender evaluation committee will finalise one company from the 10 to carry out the project, in a few days.

This apart, around 2,000 tonnes of waste from the northern parts of the city will be processed in Minjur by December 2014. After the plants are commissioned, solid waste generated in the city may no longer be transported to Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping yards, where it is currently disposed of.

The technology adopted by the plants will not pollute neighbourhoods, said a Corporation official.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle4453941.ece