State’s largest poultry waste rendering plant to be set up in Visakhapatnam

State's largest poultry waste rendering plant in Visakhapatnam to dispose of waste scientifically, converting it into aqua protein products.

The officials are planning to establish the State’s largest 20-metric tonne Chicken/Poultry Waste Rendering Plant (CWRP) in Visakhapatnam on a public-private-partnership basis to scientifically dispose of the waste generated daily in the city. Improper handling of poultry waste has long been cited as a cause of problems ranging from pollution of the city’s soil, air and water bodies, and increase in the population of stray dogs and other harmful insects.

The government is expected to earn about ₹1 crore from this plant for one year after it is operational. It will scientifically dispose of 8.5 metric tonnes of chicken waste, one tonne of mutton waste and less than 500 quintals of beef waste, totalling 10 metric tonnes of waste in the city, per day. There are 1,685 chicken shops, 600 odd mutton shops and less than 50 beef shops.

Under this plant, the waste can be converted into aqua protein products in the form of pellets. Chicken waste, including feathers, is steamed and cooked to convert it into a powder form, which is used as raw material for animal and fish feed, which is a source of income for those running the plant (a private partner). The plants will have refrigerated vehicles to collect the waste according to scientific procedures.

Till now, contractors used to collect the waste from shops and dump it at a dumping yard in Kapuluppada in the city. In some places, this waste is mostly sold to aqua farmers in the Godavari districts. Since this is an unscientific process, the authorities concerned, including the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), have designed the CWRP plant with technical advice from the Animal Husbandry Department, Pollution Control Board and the Factories Department.

Explaining the current status of the CWRP project toThe Hindu on Sunday (November 17), city Chief Veterinary Officer N. Kishore said, “It is currently in the preliminary stage. We have specifically identified five acres of land in Kapuluppada for this plant. We have to send the project report to the State Secretariat, Pollution Control Board and the Factories Department. An eight-member committee has also been constituted to submit a comprehensive report on this to the higher authorities. If all goes well, the project is likely to start in the next four months. We have not yet invited e-tenders for interested private partners, and will do it shortly.”

Currently, these plants are active in places like Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh.