Now Organic Waste Converter in Malleshwaram Market

by May 12, 2010 Environment

BBMP decided to pilot the project in Malleshwaram Market after Malleshwaram Swabhimaana Initiative (MSI) initiated the idea.

BBMP has installed an Organic Waste Converter (OWC) in  Malleswaram Market a couple of weeks ago as part its project to renovate the market. The market now has a system that manages all waste that is generated within the market. The OWC cost around Rs 22 lakhs.

OWC can process one ton of waste every day. Pic: Vani Murthy.

The OWC is a machine that processes wet organic waste by employing aerobic microbial decomposition. The organic waste is churned into a homogenised; odour free output through a bio-mechanical process. This output is left to cure in baskets for stabilisation where aerobic decomposition takes place.The final product is healthy organic compost that is a vital nutrient for farming. The OWC has been on a trial run and the market has to give only segregated organic waste to this facility.

BBMP decided to pilot the project in Malleshwaram market after the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of Malleshwaram, Malleshwaram Swabhimaana Initiative (MSI) initiated the idea. In September 2008, Dr Meenakshi Bharat of MSI and N S Ramakath of Kumara park RWA met the then Additional Commissioner, Sriram Reddy (BBMP West) and introduced the OWC as a very good concept for the market.

These baskets store the processed waste (wet waste mixed with saw dust) till they mature into organic compost. Pic: Vani Murthy.

MSI has been working on spreading waste management and source segregation programmes in Malleshwaram for more than two years and has been looking to find solutions for bulk waste-generators such as markets.

The Malleswaram MLA Dr Ashwath Narayan has taken keen interest in this project and has successfully got it going for all Bangalore to see and replicate. The members of the MSI went around the market along with the health officials of BBMP and the newly elected Corporator, Manjunath Raju to create awareness about the facility and requesting the traders to segregate their waste.  ⊕

Sections:

About Vani Murthy

Vani is a Malleswaram resident, passionate about zero waste management.
Read more by Vani Murthy

Comments:

  1. John Daniel says:
    May 28, 2010 at 5:30 am

    Great Move……..
    Hats off to RWA, RSI, Dr. Ashwath Narayan and to all involved.

    GBP

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Blocked Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland channels risk disaster for South Chennai; Conservationists urge action  

by October 21, 2026 Environment
Barriers built for the Mamallan Reservoir block Buckingham Canal water flow, vital to keep the wetland alive, avoid floods and sustain fishing families.

In Chengalpattu district, the main water channels of the Kovalam-Nemmeli coastal wetland, which drains a catchment of more than 270 square kilometres, have currently been blocked. Barriers that obstruct water flow have been built across Chennai's Buckingham Canal at three places: Thiruvidanthai-Vadanemmeli, near the Nemmeli-Thiruporur bridge, and Saluvankuppam. Earlier, we explored how the Mamallan Reservoir causes serious damage to the wetland’s ecology and how fishing livelihoods are affected. Field investigations by the Wetland Conservation Network have recorded the blockages preventing tidal exchange in the Buckingham Canal.           According to officials, these barriers were put up to enable construction of the Mamallan…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Explained: How Mumbai is losing its tree cover to infrastructure projects

by October 12, 2026 Environment
Mumbai's landscape is changing with big infra projects. Experts suggest better use of government plots and improved street design to retain green cover.

Long before Mumbai’s relentless summer even began this year, the city was already simmering. In March, Mumbai was hit by a severe heatwave, with the temperature reaching a five-year high of 40° Celsius. As rapid urbanisation and a flurry of infrastructure projects replace dense tree cover with steel and mortar, heatwaves seem to have gone from being rare occurrences to an annual threat.   The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) cut a whopping 3,093 trees in Aarey Colony to make way for Mumbai’s Aqua Line ( Metro 3). For environmentalist Stalin Dayanand, this is not just a temporary problem.…

Continue reading