Model zero-cost MRFs in Dakshina Kannada process dry waste generated by 223 gram panchayats

Having become the lone district in Karnataka to have four material recovery facilities (MRFs) to process dry waste generated by all the 223 gram panchayats in Dakshina Kannada, the coastal district is moving towards having a scientific way of disposing of sanitary pads and diapers.
Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K. Anandh said sanitary pads and diapers, collected from houses during the house-to-house collection of dry waste, remains unprocessed and they ultimately land up in the landfill sites.
To prevent this, the Zilla Panchayat is working with gram panchayats with a mechanism to send the sanitary pads and diapers to the nearest deep incineration facility where it will be burnt. 'We are convincing the panchayats to make use of their funds to cover the cost of transporting and processing of sanitary pads and diapers. We hope to have a system in place in a month's time,' said Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K. Anandh.
Genesis of the idea
As part of the Swachh Bharath Mission, the Central government mooted setting up of material recovery facility (MRF) with the capacity of handling 10 tonnes of waste per day (TPD), in a few places in the country, including in Dakshina Kannada.
The first MRF with an installed capacity of 10 TPD was set up at Thenka Yedapadavu in Mangaluru taluk. Following the successful operation of this unit, three more MRFs with each having 7 TPD installed capacity were set up in Narikombu in Bantwal taluk, Ujire in Belthangady taluk, and Kedambady in Puttur taluk. Each of these three MRFs came on 7,150 square foot of area.
How they work
Each of the three MRFs having 7 TPD capacity cost ₹1.95 crore with the major portion of about ₹1.5 crore going for civil works and the remaining towards the machinery. Funds were raised from different grants to taluk panchayats and the ZP and from CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives, including ₹46.65 lakh from Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project for the Ujire MRF, and ₹25 lakh from the District Mineral Fund. The MCF provided a truck to the Narikombu MRF.
The Tenka Yedapadavu facility is set up on a 10,000 squarefoot area at a cost of ₹4 crore. This facility processes dry waste from 51 gram panchayats (GPs) of Mangaluru, Moodbidri, Mulki and Bantwal taluks. Started in April 2023, this facility has so far received a total of 15.38 lakh kilograms of dry waste. As much as 6.15 lakh kg of inert materials, namely fabrics, rubber and multi layer plastic materials, were sent for co-processing at cement units namely ACC Geocycle, Dalmia, Ultratech, Vasavadatta and JK. A total of 9.23 lakh kg of dry waste namely glass bottle, paper cups, colour paper, e-waste, PET bottles, food packing material, general plastics and metals, were sent for end destination recycling to different units across the state. A total of 20 women and eight men work in this unit.
The Kedambady MRF is processing dry waste from 22 gram panchayats (GPs) of Puttur, 21 GPs of from Kadaba, and 25 GPs from Sullia taluks. Started in May, 2024, this MRF so far received 4.44 lakh kg of dry waste. Of this, 1.77 lakh kg has gone for co-processing, while 2.66 lakh kg of waste has gone for end destination recycling. As many as 19 women and 10 men work in this MRF.
The Ujire MRF, which was built at a cost of ₹2.41 crore, processes dry waste from 48 GPs of Belthangady taluk. Set up in August 2024, this MRF has so far received 2.86 lakh kg of dry waste. Of this, 1.3 lakh kg has gone for co-processing, while 1.2 lakh kg has gone for end destination re-cycling. A total of 16 women and six men work in this unit.
The Narikombu MRF, which was built at a cost of ₹2.7 crore, processes dry waste from 39 GPs from Bantwal taluk and 17 from Ullal taluk. Set up in December 2024, this MRF has so far received a total of 81,900 kg of dry waste. Of this, 32,760 kg has gone for co-processing, while 49,140 kg has gone for end destination re-cycling. A total of 18 women and six men work in this unit.
Zero cost model
Dr. Anandh said these MRFs work on zero-cost model. These facilities are self sustaining ones. Neither the panchayat pays anything to the MRF operator, nor the operator pays anything to the panchayats.
All the GPs collect dry waste from door-to-door and store it in a designated place. Trucks from the MRF visit the collection facility on designated days and transport the waste to the MRF, where it will be segregated depending on the size. Recyclable waste will be bailed through a bailing machine and sent to the recycler concerned, while non-recyclable waste is sent to cement factories as fuel.
'Our model is now being adopted in setting up MRFs in other districts,' Dr. Anand said.
The start-up Mangala Resource Management Pvt. Ltd. operates Thenka Yedapadavu, Kedambady and Narikombu MRFs. It also handles MRF in Nitte in Udupi district. Vaishnawi Industries Ltd. manages the Ujire facility.
New proposal
As large quantity of dry waste is coming from Ullal and surrounding areas, a new MRF with 10 TPD capacity is proposed to come up in Balepuni village, Dr. Anandh said.

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