Hyderabad: Hyderabad per day generates 4,500 metric tons of waste, out of which 50% is bio-degradable (domestic green waste).
Vegetable markets, hotels and households are the major generators of green waste. To lessen the burden at the Jawar Nagar dumping yard, the municipal corporation has asked all city markets to compost the waste within the premises and the same can be sold to the farmers and wholesale vegetable vendors, as manure.
Apart from bulk generators, even households too can compost the waste, as all it takes is a container (available for a price at the Horticulture department and market). The same manure can be used for terrace gardens. A citizen can seek advice from the GHMC on the procedure to compost waste.
According to the revised Solid waste Management rules 2016, every bulk garbage generator must pay the Municipal Corporation a monthly cess towards garbage lifting.
“As per the regulations, GHMC has to charge markets, hotels, function halls roughly Rs 50,000 per month towards waste lifting. Keeping this in mind, GHMC is instead asking the market association to build composting units within the premises, with this they would not have to pay the corporation. Giant markets like Gudimalkapur generate over 200 tonnes of vegetable waste per day. Since the generation is in a large quantity, we have asked them to proceed with Bio – methanation,” explained municipal chief Dr. B . Janardhan Reddy.
However, Bio-methanation is an expensive method, the equipment requires an investment of Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore, and a space of 400-500 square yards. But the benefits are more than that. Bio- methanation helps generates electricity. The market association presently spends close to Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh per month on the power supply, but once the equipment is in place, this will save them from bloated power bills.
The GHMC also wants function halls to create composting units, followed by hotels.
