Waste Management at Meenakshi Temple

Budget : NA

Innovation Type (Process/ Product): Process

About the Project:

The world famous “Sree Meenakshi Sundareswarar” temple is located at the heart of the city. A floating population of over 10,000 to 25,000 (Pilgrims) visit the temple every day. The temple produces about 15 tonnes of waste during off seasons (MayJuly) which doubles during annual celebrations like Chithirai (April-May) and the Pongal festival (January). Temple authorities, Madurai Corporation and Exnora came together to discuss the best waste management techniques to process the waste generated in and around the temple area. The mission “Sunehra kal” was launched in 2017 in Madurai through which the biodegradable waste from the temple as well as the surrounding localities would be processed through composting. The project was funded by ITC Limited. A composting unit was set up inside the public parking lot close to the temple across an area of 2000 square feet. The close proximity of the parking lot to the temple helped in eliminating the transportation cost. The project initiated by training and motivating over 1000 households around the temple to practice waste segregation and kitchen waste composting, as an effective method to reduce waste at source. As a result, many households got into the practice of treating wet garbage at source while many others started giving segregated waste to the workers. The bio degradable waste collected by the workers is brought to the composting unit at the public parking lot. The waste is then placed into the composting bins. Flowerwaste is placed in separate bins. Additives like microbes are added to hasten the composting process. The mixture is mixed at regular intervals using a shovel. It takes approximately 45 days to get fresh batches of manure. The newly produced manure is then layed out in a covered space for about two days to remove moisture. The mixture is then sifted and packed. Approximately 600-700 kgs of wet waste including a variety of flowers, fruits and vegetables from the nearby households, restaurants and temple is collected and processed daily. About 200 kg of manure is obtained for every ton of waste. A trained team of eight people from Exnora handles the conversion process. The manure obtained is used in the temple gardens and also sold at Rs. 5/kg to the locals living around the temple. While many hotels across the country have gone green and implemented various measures to conserve resources, Madurai has gone a step ahead. An Innovative Hotel Waste Recycling Project is being undertaken by Madurai Corporation and Madurai District Hotels Association. As many as 30 hotels have joined the initiative to utilize the waste generated by the hotels in manufacturing organic manure. The manure, in turn, is used to cultivate vegetables, organically, that are in turn used by the hotels.

Sector : Solid Waste Management

Pilot City : Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Ownership : Madurai City Municipal Corporation

Know More : chomducorp@gmail.com

Connect : chomducorp@gmail.com

Solutions

Best Practices

Solid Waste Management Practices in Urban India

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