IITH sets up waste management system on campus

Resources Recovery Park and bio-digestor aimed at reducing carbon footprint, says Director

The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) is making every possible move to make its campus greener and cleaner. From banning the usage of paper cups, single-use plastic water bottles, replacing RO water purifiers with UV water purifiers, taking up door-to-door waste collection and bio-digestor to growing more than 15,000 trees in last two years, it has significantly reduced IITH’s carbon footprint and made the campus a better place. “It is sheer pleasure to see the campus becoming greener. IITH always has a keen interest to serve society in the best possible way and it starts from the campus where we spend our 24 hours. The culture of a clean campus will not only make IITH a better place to live, but when students leave the campus, this culture will develop wherever they go. As a human race, it is our duty towards nature, to keep it intact for the future generations. Resources Recovery Park (RRP) is one such small step in this direction,” said Prof B S Murty, Director, IITH on the facility being commissioned recently. IIT Hyderabad has set up a comprehensive waste management system. The campus already has a functional sewage treatment plant based on Membrane Bioreactor Technology. In the last two years, efforts have been made to set up a comprehensive solid waste management system. The solid waste generated on the campus is broadly separated into dry and wet categories. Wet waste (food waste, vegetable peelings, etc. which are readily biodegradable) generated in hostel mess, is shredded, and fed into a biogas digester. The generated biogas is used in the students’ dining facility. This reduces the consumption of fossil fuels. The wet waste from the residential areas is sent to the vermicompost facility at the RRP. The compost is used for gardening purposes.