Tiruchy Corporation plans to use Ariyamangalam dump yard as biomining site

The two facilities will come with the technical and financial support of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), under the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) project.

Tiruchy is among the few cities in the country that have been selected by MoHUA to implement NAMA projects. Other cities in the list are Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Varanasi and Goa.

Consequently, the Tiruchy corporation submitted three proposals to the Central government aimed at eliminating the need for landfills in the city’s waste management plan.

According to the civic body officials, the pyrolysis plant will chemically break down plastic waste into oil inside a reactor which would help generate electricity. Biomining follows a process of extracting waste from dump yard and segregating the same for appropriate recycling using microorganisms.

Corporation officials said the proposals is under the consideration of a body constituted for NAMA and that it might take some time for it to be finalised and approved.

Residents who live near the Ariyamangalam dump yard have expressed relief over the plan as they have been affected with various problems associated with the dumping of waste, including health issues.

“The dumping of garbage at Ariyamangalam has been reduced to 80 tonnes a day from 450 tonnes previously. This has been made possible because the civic body has established as many as 26 micro composting yards to efficiently handle the garbage generated,” said Corporation Commissioner N Ravichandran, adding if their plans fructify, it would remarkably change the environment in Ariyamangalam.