Despite National Green Tribunal order, seven micro composting centres in Coimbatore remain non-functional

Despite repairs, seven out of 14 nonfunctional Micro Composting Centres in Coimbatore remain inoperative, causing waste management issues.

Seven Micro Composting Centres (MCCs) in Coimbatore continue to remain non-functional despite several orders from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to the Coimbatore Corporation, mandating that all existing 34 MCCs become operational by January 22, 2024.

The remaining 27 functional MCCs each process 3 to 5 tonnes of wet waste every day. The city generates approximately 1,010 tonnes of garbage on a daily basis, 300 tonnes of which are transferred to MCCs. The MCCs process 83 tonnes of wet waste in total, with the remainder transferred to Vellalore dump yard. Aside from non-operational machinery however, waste segregation has also been a consistent issue. 

Recently, the Coimbatore Integrated Waste Management Company stated in a report on the ‘Supply of Segregated Municipal Solid Waste’ that they had received 0% segregated trash from the Corporation in the past two months in spite of several directions from the NGT. 

One MCC in Ondipudur is still being restored following a fire. “We want to finish the restoration as soon as feasible,” said a sanitary official of the Corporation.

The MCC in Ukkadam has been shut down for two months now. Residents of Anbunagar have complained that the MCC stores collected unsegregated waste for days, causing an unpleasant odour to spread in the neighbourhood. Residents of Saibaba Colony in North zone have raised a similar issue as well.

“There are around 2,800 apartments at this location. There is so much of waste not being processed, unsegregated storage and excessive open dumping,” said one staff member at the Ukkadam Sewage Treatment Plant. 

Labour shortages have also been reported in the MCCs in Goundampalayam and Peelamedu in the north zone, resulting in a majority of collected unsegregated waste being transferred to the Vellalore dump yard.