In keeping with its efforts to keep Delhi cleaner, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has devised an environment friendly way of disposing the huge quantity of horticulture waste it generates everyday. The experts from IITs and BITS have evolved a technology to instantly convert the waste into manure that can also be used as fuel for smoke-free cooking. The civic body has resorted to this innovation as an alternative to its usual practice of burning the green waste in its area which emits smoke containing poisonous methane gas.
Termed as ‘decentralised organic-reject management’, the new system is expected to be totally pollution free. Built by a group of engineers who run the organisation named, No Kooda, the innovation is said to be far more cost-effective than waste to energy plants. “All the green waste which can include grass, leaves, flowers, kitchen waste or even thick firewood is put inside a compact 6/7 feet machine. While at one end the waste gets inserted into the machine, on the other side ‘bio-sticks fuel’ is produced simultaneously. It needs minimal manpower and saves the months that are taken when the waste is left in landfill sites for decomposition,” said Manish Pathak, Director, No Kooda. A test done by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) also revealed that the ‘bio-sticks fuel’ produced in the process is nearly three times better than the usual manure used for plantation. Besides, the sticks can also be used for smoke-free cooking, added Pathak.
To start off, the NDMC is installing these machines at three of its gardens, namely Talkatora Garden, Nehru Park and lodhi Garden. “The machine is potable, compact and also makes far less noise than other machines. While a waste to energy plant can go up to crores, this one can range anywhere between 8-30 lakhs only,” said a senior NDMC official. The project was first successfully taken up by the CPWD for its 75 acre park, Buddha Jayanti Park, in New Delhi. The machine when at work generates around 75 decibels, the average noise of a single car horn.