From the ashes, emerges a green idea at Brahmapuram Premium

Kochi's first Compressed Biogas plant transforms waste into green energy, addressing the city's waste crisis and reducing carbon emissions.

On the evening of March 2, 2023, an inferno erupted in the mountains of plastic waste piled high at the Kochi Corporation’s waste treatment yard at Brahmapuram, located on the outskirts of the city.

For nearly a fortnight, flames devoured the sprawling dump, which mostly consisted of tonnes of plastic and non-biodegradable waste accumulated over a decade, along the banks of Kadamprayar, a critical freshwater source, sending plumes of smoke across Kochi’s skyline. The fire that released huge quantities of noxious gases and soot lasted for almost a fortnight lowered the air quality of the city to alarming levels. Hundreds sought medical assistance following respiratory issues.

When the fire was finally doused, a large area of the 110-acre plot at Brahmapuram in the Vadavucode-Puthencruz panchayat on the suburbs of Kochi city resembled a wasteland ravaged by war, leaving behind smouldering embers, acrid smoke and scorched earth so lifeless that it seemed even a blade of grass may never take root again.

Less than three years after the blaze, a 10-acre plot at the yard’s epicentre stands transformed beyond recognition, housing a Compressed Biogas plant, funded by BPCL-Kochi Refinery. It will be formally inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday (February 26, 2026).

Rising from the once-charred wasteland are three green domes. Two of them are, in fact, double-layered balloons mounted atop digesters, each with the capacity to treat 75 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day. The inner balloon inflates as raw biogas is generated, while the outer shell holds its form against inclement weather, ensuring the anaerobic functioning of the digesters with the help of a water column controlled by a blower. The third structure is a ground-mounted balloon — a specialised, collapsible storage membrane designed exclusively for biogas — with a capacity of 1,500 cubic metres.

The old garbage treatment plant at Brahmapuram. | Photo Credit: H. VIBHU