CHENNAI: A corporate-non-governmental organisation partnership at Pammal has set in motion a project to compost the garbage generated in the town while integrating it with industries involved in recycling of materials.

The `Zero Solid Waste Management' plan envisages a compost yard covering a 10-ground plot where the waste will be segregated and composted. The piece of land was earmarked for the project by the Pammal Special Grade Panchayat after the Kancheepuram Collector visited the locality last month.

The manure obtained from the compost will be sieved, packed and sold to farmers in neighbouring villages. Paper, glass, metals and plastic will be sent for recycling. The project plan was announced on Thursday at a seminar.

Pepsico, the soft drinks giant, will provide Rs.15 lakhs to build the infrastructure on the site and purchase tricycles and pushcarts for collection and transportation of garbage.

Spread over 13.6 sq. km., Pammal has a population of 68,000 and a floating population of 7,500, according to the 2001 Census.

Exnora Green Pammal, the voluntary organisation involved in the project, will be replicating a model it has been running in three wards for the past eight years, said Mangalam Balasubramaniam of the Exnora Green Pammal.

Sri Sankara Magalir Mandram, a women's self-help group, has been handling about half a tonne of garbage from Sankara Nagar, VOC Nagar and LIC Nagar at the Sankara Nagar compost plant that produces 250 kg of manure.

The project model should provide a sustained employment for urban poor, said S. Balaji, Director of Environment Department. Allowing self-help groups to run the plants would be helpful, as in populous countries, a job-led growth in urban areas was important.

Similarly, it was also important to work out a link with nearby villages to ascertain their demand for manure and match it with the projected supply from the compost yard.

With regard to waste disposal here, `relocation' is the name of the game, said M.B. Nirmal, founder of Exnora International. He advocated decentralised solid waste management through composting techniques that could be practiced at different levels.

S. Muthuswamy, Joint Director, Municipal Administration department, said the department had earmarked Rs. 1.25 crores for a comprehensive solid waste management scheme under the Vision Plan.

Shalendra Kumar executive vice-president, Pepsico, M. Chandrasekaran executive officer, Pammal Special Grade Panchayat, and P. Kanthaswamy, Commissioner, Namakkal Municipality, participated.

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