Jorhat gets lessons in waste magement

A Correspondent

Jorhat, May 15: A four-day training program on Integrated and Sustaible Solid and Liquid Resource Magement (SLRM) organized by the District Swachh Bharat Mission Magement Committee and district administration is going on at the Jorhat District Library Auditorium. It is being conducted by Chandrasekhar Srinivasan whose aim is to convert “garbage to gold”.

Interacting with a host of people from different organizations like the ONGC, OIL, tea gardens, Indian Air Force, army and Jorhat-based industrialists, Srinivasan, who has a 23-year experience in the field of waste resource magement, spoke at length about the need to create awareness and educate the people on the virtues of an effective waste magement and the importance of segregation of organic and inorganic waste within a stipulated time with reference to biodegradable waste that becomes a waste only after 24 hours.

“Incidentally, the waste first starts giving a mild odour after two hours and then stinks in the next 24 hours. But if the same is lifted once in 12 hours, it is a resource which can be sold and in a greater volume can also sustain the livelihood of many persons who can sell recyclable waste like paper, plastics, bottles, coconut shell, fiber, wood etc. Instead of dustbins and garbage dumping grounds, the public need to have two containers, one for organic and the other for inorganic waste and hand them over to the waste collecting vehicles,” he said.

In his lecture, Srinivasan also spoke about roof-top gardens and the very own and world’s biggest rooftop garden constructed in Suru at Coimbatore having 984 containers of vegetables.

“Decentralisation is the key to the success of the project through which a SLRM center at a radius of every 2 kilometers supported by battery operated waste collection vehicles in both rural and urban areas will not only turn what people discard as waste by converting it into raw materials consumed by many industries but will also reduce the need of dumping grounds and dustbins every roadside. I would like to cite examples of some materials otherwise thrown as waste like aluminum cans used in the beverage industries is valued at 150 per kg, pet bottles without the cap at 15 per Kg, tetra packs at 9 per kg, straws at 35 per kg and even coconut shells and coconut fiber which fetches up to 400 kg and used egg cells which after converting to powder is purchased at 300 per kg and which is a source of pure calcium. And on the organic front every kitchen waste like raw vegetables, left out fruits and waste collected from vegetable markets can be a source of fresh foods for the cows and buffaloes at the SLRM center who can in turn produce dung from which methane gas can be extracted and others for the generation of vermicompost,” Srinivasan stated.

Later in the evening, Jorhat DC Solanki Vishal Vasant said, “The whole idea behind the program is to spread the message that with an effective waste magement system we can altogether reduce the usage of dumping grounds and the need for road side dustbins if the people start keeping containers and segregate waste. Jorhat as such produces 20 tonnes of garbage everyday and through the establishment of SLRM, we can strive to provide a much cleaner and greener environment. The session is very thought provoking and hence I request all present to take the idea forward”.  

Also present in today’s program were Marian MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, Project Director of DRDA Loya Maduri, leading industrialists’ of Jorhat Chambers of Commerce, district administration officials, ward members of Jorhat Municipality Board, top Air Force and Army personnel, representatives of state PSU’s and NGOs.