Pachchanady solid waste treatment facility recycles tender coconut waste in an unique way

Mangaluru's solid waste treatment plant has been processing tender coconut waste for the last year. 15 tonnes of waste is collected daily, which is used to produce coco-peat, coco-fibre, coir-ropes and other value-added products. Former Mayor Premanand Shetty and Commissioner Akshay Sridhar initiated the process, with bioremediation expert Kiran P. Kulkarni helping to create a market for the products. This encourages entrepreneurs to process the waste and create an alternative combustible fuel.

Around noon on Friday, December 8, a lorry filled with tender coconut waste entered the solid waste treatment plant in Pachchanady on the outskirts of Mangaluru. The vehicle dumped the waste in the open space adjoining the unit of city-based Bhuvi Renewable Resources, which has been processing this material to produce coco-peat, coco-fibre, coir-ropes and few other value-added biproducts.

The processing unit has been in operation in the solid waste treatment plant of Mangaluru City Corporation for the last year. It started with processing nearly two tonnes per day. Since the last three months, the capacity has increased to process about 10 tonnes of tender coconut waste per day. On average, 15 tonnes of tender coconut waste comes to the facility every day.

Former Mayor and Chief Whip in Mangaluru City Council Premanand Shetty said tender coconut waste was being collected along with domestic wet waste. This mixed waste was being dumped in the landfill site in Pachchcnady. The need to prevent slow degrading coconut husk from entering the landfill site was highlighted by experts, who looked into treatment of legacy waste at the landfill site, Mr. Shetty said.

Former Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshay Sridhar initiated the process of separate collection of tender coconut waste from different parts of the city. Services of bioremediation expert Kiran P. Kulkarni from Ministry of Urban Development was taken to start the tender coconut waste processing unit of Bhuvi Renewable Energies.

Dry coconut husk is put into a husk beater machine, which produces coconut fibre and cocopeat. The coconut fibre is dried to prepare coir ropes. Coconut fibre is also being sent to toy-making and pillow-preparing industries. Coco peat is also dried and marketed. A part of coco peat is made in the form of small blocks and sold.

Mr. Kulkarni said there is another unit in the solid waste treatment facility that mixes the coconut fibre with plastic to prepare coco-brick weights, which serve as an alternative combustible fuel in cement and other industries.

Mr. Kulkarni emphasised the need for creating a good market in Mangaluru for coco-peat and other by products of coconut husk to encourage more entrepreneurs take up processing of tender coconut waste.