Julio D’Silva
Fomento Green’s efforts to manage the Margao town’s garbage has been severely affected by major factors and going by the current trend these issues will be resolved only by the end of the current year.
Fomento Green that started its work at Sonsoddo on December 12, 2012 has been hit in a major way in the absence of a landfill site. Although the landfill site was allotted there were objections as the company started developing it and applying for the same, finally the Town and Country Planning Department gave its approval three years later.
The work to prepare the landfill site is currently underway at the moment and is expected to be ready only by December 2017 and till then the company will be forced to find other means to dispose the inert waste which would otherwise had gone to the landfill site.
Currently, the company is dumping the inert waste at Sonsoddo and the government will be approached to give it a breathing space through an alternate arrangement till the landfill site is complete.
At present, around 60 tonnes of mixed waste is dumped everyday by the Margao Municipal Council trucks at Sonsoddo which Fomento Green has to deal with. The mixed garbage is sorted initially through pre-sorting trammel. The non-biodegradable waste above 15 cms in size is thrown out.
The remaining waste undergoes bacterial treatment for eight days following which it goes through another trammel where waste above 35 mm is sorted out. Subsequently, more trammels further segregate the waste by removing sand and stones. Later the refined compost is sieved separately after the waste is kept in curing pits for three weeks.
Ironically, the Goa State Pollution Control Board has not given the company the permit to sell the compost as it lacks landfill site. But much of the compost generated over the years has been either given to some people who ask for it, or is just dumped.
According to Fomento Green CEO Shridhar Kamat, their task would be easier if they were given segregated waste as the biodegradable waste could be treated directly. However, he hoped this situation will prevail soon given the fact that the MMC has now invited tenders for door-to-door collection of segregated waste.
While admitting that they have a problem as the landfill site is not yet ready, he said the company will approach the concerned authorities to work out a solution to the problem.
