Tiruchi Corporation sets out to increase efficiency of micro compost centres

All 39 micro compost centres in Tiruchi are expected increase effiiency in three months.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Tiruchi City Corporation has taken an initiative to make the micro composting centres (MCC) more efficient. Initially, 11 centres out of the 39 in the city have been chosen for the initiative. It will be extended to the other centres over a three-month period. 

Better efficiency is achieved by increasing the number of conservancy workers, ramping up the use of shredding machines, use of organic solution to enrich the manure, and by closely monitoring the stages of composting at the centres. It includes proper daily segregation of waste to be processed in the composting bins. These processes are expected to reduce the composting cycle time.

A crucial part of the upgrade is the effective daily monitoring of the compost bins as well as turning the manure. This includes effectively segregating wet waste collected from homes into seven barrels and continually spraying effective microorganism (EM) solution to aid in quick composting of the same. This decreases the composting time by 10 days, completing the process in 50 days, whereas it usually takes up to 60 days to produce manure, the sources explained. 

This initiative is expected to increase the manure output, which at present averages about five tonnes a day per centre, by 20%. Various beautification processes such as painting the centres in attractive colours had been carried out at the 11 centres. 

According to City Health Officer T. Manivanan, the primary objective was to efficiently manage and dispose of wet waste generated in the city. The enriched manure can be used for agriculture and home gardening, he said.