Salunkhe Vihar composting machines going to waste

While Sus Road residents are fighting to shut down the foul smelling slurry plant, the residents of NIBM road, Wanowrie and Salunke Vihar road are waiting for the allocated composting machines, which are still wrapped in cellophane wrapper, to become functional. This will come as a relief to many of the residents as their waste will be churned into fertilisers.

Since March 2016, Nanda Lonkar and the PMC have worked together to invest more than ₹70 lakhs in two composting machines, which have been lying at the Salunkhe Vihar electric crematorium grounds. The allocated space for the biogas project was inaugurated in 2009 and since then, only a shed and a raised platform have been erected. 

“We funded the new machines in March to help clean the waste of this area. We have bought two machines, two and three tonnes each, for composting the waste,” she says. There was a need for such a machine to clean up the organic waste and with the machines in place, residents will be more orderly in following the segregation of garbage,” said Nanda Lonkar.  

Ecoman Eniviro solutions private limited, who have a tri-party agreement with PMC and Rashtriya Chemical Fertiliser (RCF) for the fertiliser made out of organic waste, said that the machine was one of the most efficient available in the market. “This machine is a fully automatic, highly compact composting machine which uses special microorganisms to break down and decompose all kinds of organic waste into compost within 24 hours. The entire process is natural and biological ,” explains Nitin Salunkhe from Ecoman Eniviro solutions private limited. 

The PMC had also bought two machines; three tonnes and two tonnes as a backup. These machines can also generate up to one ton of compost per day, he added. 

 “We had initially planned to install one at Wadgaon sheri, but the residents opposed it and hence we were looking for a space. The organic waste converter and an incinerator will be put in place soon, but the construction of the foundation took longer than expected, which resulted in the delay,” said a senior engineer from the solid waste management department of PMC. 

While the machines lie there, the residents face another problem. Former mayor Prashant Jagtap has been trying to instigate the residents against having a compost plant in the vicinity following the Sus incident. According to Maithily Manakawad, resident and member of Wanowrie Residents Forum (WRF), they feel that these compost plants are need of the hour. “Many societies in Wanawadi area have no space left to set up this unit. As per PMC's decision, every ward office needs to manage /treat their garbage within the ward jurisdiction. Besides, we also have the Supreme Court guide lines (SWM 2000 and 2016) under which each society have to mandatorily treat their wet garbage in house.”