The Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation and the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology has proposed to set up a new plant supplementing the existing solid waste management system in the city.
The plant is equipped to process five tonnes of garbage everyday. It will make use of an ‘anaerobic composter’ (vacuum container used for composting) as primary component capable of turning early putrefying garbage into biogas energy with 60% methane content. Easily putrefying waste is the most difficult to manage because of the smell and the leachate. The scientists at NIIST have come up with a zero-discharge system for the primary treatment process. The system uses a powerful microbial process and a bio-filtration method to control the odour. For the project, the City Corporation will be providing land, electricity, water, solid waste and unskilled labour whereas the NIIST will foot the capital cost and the operation and maintenance expenses for three years.
