Coimbatore will make giant strides in the supply of organic compost with the advent of the vermicompost plant into the market today.

Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation’s plant at Vellalore is among the largest in the country producing about three tonnes of manure every day.

It recycles 110 tonnes of organic waste on a daily basis, said Corporation Commissioner Dr Vijay Karthikeyan.
Farmers in the surrounding areas were present today at the trial run of the plant that help extend the supply of organic compost even outside the state.

The plant adopts a totally eco-friendly method of waste recycling, according to the commissioner.

“The process starts with the collection point for the waste, which will be deposited into a cement tank inside the plant filled with enriched soil. Then the earthworm will be introduced into the tank to break down the waste.

“With the help of a specialist instrument the waste will be mixed properly every two days. Then it will be transferred into a drying unit and further dehydrated. Then the chunky material will be shredded into granules to obtain a consolidated manure,” Karthikeyan explained.

Streamlined waste segregation is the first step towards efficient compost production.

“The corporation has tied up with bodies starting from the zonal level to segregate solid waste in order to decentralize this process and make things easier,” he said.

The corporation is also joining forces with NGOs, corporates and student bodies to take this a step further.

The commissioner said the ongoing awareness programmes about responsible waste segregation will be stepped up.

“We will take along with us households and hotels, which generate a lot of food waste, to create an intelligent waste segregation system,” Dr Karthikeyan said.