A new biogas plant, installed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, is ready to tackle organic waste at the Government Model Higher Secondary School, Pattom. The plant was inaugurated by Mayor K Chandrika on Tuesday.
The Rs 4.94 lakh project was carried out by tapping into the Community Infrastructure Fund under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) of the corporation. Set up behind the school’s dining hall, the plant is expected to provide a solution to the food waste generated in the school, which is attended by around 3,000 students.
“Food waste is generated from the leftovers of the lunch that students bring from home and also from our school meal programmes,” said principal N Retnakumar. “We hope this plant will not only help with the waste processing but also that we can use the biogas generated for cooking and reduce our dependence on LPG.”
The biogas plant, which was constructed over three months, was ready to start functioning by August 10, said project manager B Muraleedharan. It has five components, namely an inlet chamber, a bio-reactor, a balancing-cum-outlet chamber, a soak pit and a septic tank.
According to the project report, an estimated 150 kilograms of organic waste is generated daily by the school. This will be fed through the inlet pipe to the bio-reactor, where microorganisms will convert the waste to biogas. The report claims that up to 10 cubic metres of biogas can be formed, which can provide six hours worth of use. Lauding the initiative as a good way to treat waste at the source itself, the Mayor said that waste was not a problem of Thiruvananthapuram alone, but that of the world. “When the Vilappilsala plant closed down, the city itself came to a halt,” she said, adding that it was to be expected as wherever there has been a large waste treatment plant or landfill in the world, such problems have risen as the city is facing now.
As a way to reduce waste generation at an individual level, the Mayor also advised the students not to fall into the habit of eating junk-food and become slaves to lifestyle diseases like diabetes.
“We must start vegetable gardens in whatever little space is available in our homes,” she said, adding that it was necessary to reduce dependence on food from outside as one does not know if it is adulterated or not.
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