The Tiruchi City Corporation is all set to establish a Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) plant at the Ariyamangalam dump yard to process the organic degradable waste generated in the city.
The civic body has outsourced the collection, segregation, transportation, and processing of waste generated in all 65 wards in the city to a private agency. On an average, nearly 400-450 tonnes of municipal solid waste is collected daily from households in the city.
The non-biodegradable dry waste is transported to the Ariyamangalam dump yard and processed in a phased manner. The segregated wet waste is transported to 36 micro composting centres run by the Corporation to process and produce compost. With the establishment of the plant, the dump yard would process the bio-degradable waste to produce CNG, which would be used to run vehicles.
A sum of ₹35 crore sanctioned under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0 will be utilised for the purpose. “A detailed project report has been completed and we will soon issue a request for proposal to rope in consultants,” said a senior Corporation official.
The civic body is establishing a resource recovery facility at the yard to segregate the dry waste into recyclable, non-recyclable, inert, and refuse-derived fuel.
Meanwhile, a detailed project report (DPR) has been completed to initiate Phase III of the biomining project to reclaim the dump yard by scientifically removing the solid waste, including those deposited below the ground level. The final phase of the land reclamation is estimated to cost ₹44.5 crore. Phase I and II of biomining have so far retrieved 38 acres of the dump yard, which sprawls for 47.7 acres.
After reclaiming the land, the civic body would reserve around 25 acres to plant tree saplings for reviving the contaminated soil, the official added.
