Now, corp plans multiple plants to treat garbage

Kochi: While the BPCL Kochi Refinery proceeds with the construction of the CBG plant, the Kochi corporation is planning a windrow plant with an estimated cost of Rs 14 crore. During a council meeting on Thursday, the mayor also highlighted the need for a waste-to-energy plant, previously scrapped by the government and the local body, to address the requirements of both the corporation and neighbouring areas.
The agenda for the council meeting proposed repairing the existing windrow compost plant for Rs 79 lakh. However, concerns were raised by some councillors, including Henry Austin. The existing windrow compost plant is in a dilapidated condition. It is located in marshy land, its foundation sank many years back, and it may collapse any time, it was pointed out. “How can such a plant be repaired,” Austin asked at the council meeting. Mayor M Anil Kumar then responded by stating that the plan is not to repair the existing plant but to construct a new one for an approximate cost of Rs 14 crore.
Concerns were also raised by some councillors about the capacity of the proposed windrow plant. The mayor said that the corporation will request government approval to increase the plant's capacity to 100 tonnes per day (TPD).
In addition to the windrow plant, the mayor emphasized the necessity of a waste-to-energy plant, citing incidents of technical issues in CBG plants in other locations like Indore. He suggested that a waste-to-energy plant would benefit not only the corporation but also neighboring local bodies.