The compost yards in various urban local bodies, with years of accumulated garbage with no technology or source for disposal, is creating environmental and space problem for future dumping.

Due to the above reason the municipalities are looking for new sites for dumping garbage. This apart from spreading the menace of garbage dumps in the surrounding areas of newly acquired sites and will also increase the cost of transportation of collected garbage.

The present windrow method of green composting, that is being established at a very high cost with no scope of recovering the investment, can only help to reduce the green composting time of new garbage brought into the compost yard but cannot help to clear the existing garbage and create room for dumping new garbage.

It is a known fact that the garbage dumped in the compost yard contains 95% degradable materials and 5% non-degradable and inert materials. This 95% degradable material lying in the compost yard for years has been well digested over the years. Separating the compost from plastics and other non-degradable materials and retrieving the green compost can be a good proposal for clearing the yard for future dumping and it would also bring in revenue by sale of green compost and promote organic farming.

To facilitate the above we as an NGO have developed a cost-effective 20 tons output capacity mobile sieving machine at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs (US $10,000) that could retrieve 100% of the naturally compost green garbage from the digested dumps with minimum human intervention. This machine consist of conveyers for loading the green compost into the sieving machine on a continuous basis which automatically separates the inert and other non-degradable materials and lumps from the green compost and pushes it through a duct which can either be filled directly into bags or loaded into a lorry with the help of other conveyers. This green compost can be either applied directly or further enriched through other available methods or used for producing vermi-compost by involving self help groups (SHGs). This will not only be a value-added product but also be an income generating activity for hundreds of SHGs as well as unemployed youth, and it can also be a small and medium enterprise for aspiring entrepreneurs.

This process will not only help to retrieve the green compost but also clear space for dumping future garbage, bring in additional revenue by sale of green compost for the municipalities and to the participating stakeholders. Above all this will avoid the exercise of purchasing new sites and creating uneconomical infrastructure like windrow platforms and equipments at exorbitant cost.

As a pilot project, FOOD has installed a machine of 20 ton capacity per day in the compost yard of Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation and this is functioning to the utmost satisfaction of all concerned.

Pricing and Marketing

Green compost can be made available to residents and farmers. Wide publicity is made through agricultural, horticultural and through block development offices by placing display posters on notice boards and also advertisement in local newspapers, cable TV and media informing that green compost is available on regular basis round the year. The municipalities can also use green compost for soil enrichment of their parks, landscapes and avenue trees that are in municipal properties.

Steps are also initiated through press, mass media to reach the farmers, orchard and estate owners, landscapers, nurseries, home gardeners, lawn and garden developers, greenhouses, golf course and park maintenance contractors, fertilizer dealers etc.

Similar steps are initiated to reach the department of agriculture, department of forestry, horticultural, sericulture, BDOs government nurseries, agri-marketing cooperatives and federations to promote marketing through district collectors.

With the objective of promoting organic farming FOOD will supply about 1000 tons of green compost free to small farmers until the market picks up for the product. FOOD has proposed to sell the green compost at Rs 300 per ton if taken delivery at site in bulk and at Rs. 400 per ton if supplied at site in 50 kg bags and Rs. 500 per ton if the product is supplied at the door steps of the farmer within a radius of 25 kilometers (this includes transportation).

Project cost

1. Sieving machine with conveyers and accessories - 1 No. = Rs 5,00,000

2. Tractor with front end loader attachment - 2 No.s = Rs 16,00,000

Total cost of the project = Rs 21,00,000

Process and cost benefits

Establishment of windrow method costs Rs. 20 lakhs for converting five tons garbage into green compost and with this investment the municipalities can only accelerate the process of digesting and shorten the time of green composting and that too it can only process the disintegrated garbage and it is not a solution for disposing off the existing garbage and clear space for dumping incoming garbage.

Through the sieving process proposed by FOOD we are not only retrieving 100% naturally compost green garbage but also help the municipalities in retrieving the land for further dumping of garbage thus avoiding the municipalities looking for new sites at far off places which will increase the cost of transportation of garbage.

The cost benefits are that the windrow method with an investment of Rs. 20 lakhs can process five tons of garbage whereas with same investment on the sieving method proposed it will retrieve 20 tons of green compost per day.

The investment in establishing windrow cannot be recovered during its life span whereas the cost of sieving equipments can be recovered within three years.

The windrow is mainly used to convert the incoming garbage to green compost whereas the sieving method is to dispose of the existing green compost.

For windrow method we should bring the garbage to the place where the concrete platform is established which involves transportation but for sieving process we can move the machine to the place where there is green compost or use conveyers for loading.

The sieving process can ensure supply of green compost round the year. This is not possible in other methods.

Area specific advantage for production and marketing of green compost

Presently the pilot project has been implemented in Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation wherein the Corporation is generating about 100 tons of green garbage every day. Although source segregation and door to door collection of garbage is practiced, significant achievement is still a dream for the Corporation. Outcome is that thousands of tons of garbage has accumulated over the years and is occupying vast areas of land creating environmental and health hazard to the residents.

Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts have the advantage of a river flowing throughout the year where agriculture activities are the dominant profession. Both districts have approximately 50,000 hectares of irrigated land each and equal amount of orchards and wasteland. With the above advantages unfortunately there is no proportionate number of lifestock in the districts which is the main source of organic input to farm activity. This has led to destabilization, malnourishment and reduction in natural enrichment of soil with organic input leading to administering heavy dosage of chemical fertilizers that has in turn increased cost of production at the same time killing the micro-organisms in the soil leading to uneconomical business practices, damaging the land and increase of waste land. Due to this farmers are abandoning worthy land with perennial water supply and moving out to other professions. Hence making available green compost round the year can help to retrieve thousands of acres of waste land and also promote viable farm activity in addition to helping the municipalities in disposal and finding revenue through sale of green compost.

This project is suitable for implementation in all the municipalities and town panchayats where there is accumulated stock of garbage and generating minimum 20 tones of garbage every day. Multiple machines can be installed where there is a need to segregate and dispose huge quantities.

Proposed TOR for sieving and marketing municipal green compost garbage piled up in municipalities through public-private-people participation

Although the Municipalities are competent in implementing the above program, due to human resource constraints this project can alternatively be implemented through public, private and people partnership.

There can be a tripartite agreement between the Municipalities, the funding agency and private agency wherein the funding agency should fund the private agency for purchase of as many number of machine that may be required so as to clear the existing stock as early as possible. The municipalities will provide electricity at cost, space for installing the machine, garbage and other logistics for smooth functioning and ensure expected outcome and repayment of loan drawn by the participating agency from funding agency. The private agency should participate with machine and man power and marketing source for operation, maintenance and marketing of the end product.

Based on the project income the loan can be repaid by the private agency in one year. However the period of repayment can be for three years with an initial interval period of one year.