Sullia in Dakshina Kannada has started operations at an integrated dry waste management centre designed to process plastic and other dry waste collected in the town, replacing the earlier practice of storing refuse in sacks near public locations.
The centre has been established at the waste dumping yard in Kallcharpe under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Dry waste had been accumulating near the town panchayat office, a vehicle parking area and other locations. With the new facility operational, the panchayat expects these stockpiles to gradually reduce.
Waste collected from Sullia is segregated into wet and dry waste. Wet waste is handed over to private parties for conversion into compost, while dry waste was earlier stored in gunny bags. At the new centre, a waste-segregation machine separates the material and a baling machine compresses it into bundles for storage and transport.
The centre will process white plastic, coloured plastic covers, clothes, paper, juice and liquor tetra packs, plastic bottles and other dry waste. The separated material is weighed and stored according to category. Although the baling machine can produce bundles weighing about 200 kilograms at a time, the panchayat is currently making bundles of between 80 kg and 100 kg to simplify transportation.
The facility includes a building constructed at a cost of ₹32 lakh and machinery costing ₹15 lakh. Of the machinery investment, ₹9 lakh was spent on the dry waste-segregation machine, lifting machine and shifting vehicle. A further ₹6 lakh was spent on the baling machine, also referred to in the report as a sucking machine.
Between four and five tonnes of dry waste has already been compressed into bundles since the centre began operations. Sullia Town Panchayat plans to send the material to factories that recycle plastic. Chief Officer Basavaraj H.R. told Prajavani that the panchayat intends to invite a tender and sell the bundles to plastic recycling factories after the accumulated quantity reaches about 15 tonnes.
The panchayat says the facility will make dry waste disposal easier and could reduce the plastic waste problem by 90% because the material will be sent for reuse. That outcome will depend on the continued segregation of waste, regular operation of the machinery and the planned sale and movement of the baled material to recycling facilities.
The immediate implementation milestone is the accumulation of about 15 tonnes of baled dry waste, after which the town panchayat plans to invite tenders for sale to plastic recycling factories.
