Special Correspondent

SEGREGATION: Workers engaged in cleaning and drying of plastic covers containing liquid food items and food remnants in the SWM Centre in CMC, Vellore. — Photo D. Gopalakrishnan

VELLORE: The SWM (solid waste management) model being implemented jointly by Exnora Green Cross (EGC), Vellore and the Christian Medical College (CMC) and Hospital, Vellore, for the last five months to effectively dispose of the non-medical wastes generated in the various units of the CMC has shown promising results. The medical wastes are treated through a common effluent treatment plant for hospitals in Vellore district, being implemented by a private agency at Kandippedu village near Katpadi.

According to C. Srinivasan, president, EGC, the sale of the recyclable wastes alone had yielded an income of about Rs. 3 lakh in the last three months, which meant an assured income of about Rs. 1 lakh per month. It only proved that the project was not only effective but also self-sustaining.

Buyers had been identified for all the different kinds of wastes generated. While primary segregation was done at the source itself, a secondary segregation of the biodegradable wastes (BW) and non-biodegradable wastes (NBW) was done at the SWM Centre inaugurated at a site opposite to the CMC in Bagayam in May this year. Over 200 workers, mostly members of women's self-help groups, were engaged round-the-clock here in the task of segregating the two types of wastes. From here, the segregated cattle-edible BW were sent to the cattleshed, where they were consumed by the cattle, while the non-cattle-edible BW were sent to the compost tank, for composting into manure. The cow dung was fed into two biogas plants for generation of biogas, which was used as fuel in the canteen for workers. The NBW were sent to a tertiary segregation unit where the plastic covers, injection bottles and waste papers were separated, packed and despatched to the buyers.

Before that, the plastic covers containing liquid edible items were cleaned and dried. R.M. Swamy, supervisor, SWM Centre said that electric fly control systems were used in the secondary segregation unit to kill the flies that swarm the food wastes in order to prevent the flies from causing health hazards.