PURE WATER FOUNDATIONCHENNAI

Green Initiatives – Sludge and Septage Management

byDr.S.S.Sivakumar & Jennifer Pandiyan

WASTE AS A RESOURCE

Resource use output + waste

Reuse of waste more output + lesser waste

Lesser waste zero waste

POTENTIAL OF SLUDGEClass I metropolitan cities (35) alone

• 40000 m3 per day of sludge are produced.

• 146 lac tones of biosolids fertilizer per annum which compares very favorably India’s total chemical fertilizer output per annum.

• Apart from its environmental benefits, if it can be sold just Rs2/kg the revenue would be Rs2920 crores/annum.

Initiative of our organisation

• Currently we are selling biosolids(US-EPA norms) to the farmers in Tamilnadu at Rs2/ to Rs5/ per kg.

• In addition, we are selling organic (FCO norms) soilless potting mix and growth nutrients for plants to urban customers as part of sustainable waste management process.

• Given full participation of all stake holders concerned, we should be able to sell 6 lac tones per year.

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OUR PRODUCTS

POTENTIAL OF WASTE WATER Class I metropolitan cities (35) alone

20000 mld of treated water is available

2000 medium-large size irrigation tanks can be filled up each day with 11 months of irrigation

2.64million acres of land can be irrigated at 7000 ltrs/acre every day

Initiative of our organisation

• We started a comprehensive water management program among farmers in Chengelpet using only treated waste water for cultivation.

• In the pilot we’ve started with 2 types of crops.

• Treated water will be transported by trucks and stored in the farm.

SEPTAGE MANAGEMENT

• Outside of class I cities, most of class II and peri-urban areas are terrains of septage.

• In 2009, there were 100 million septic tanks all over the country at an average of 3000 ltrs septic tank.

• This translates itelf into 3 lac million ltrs of septage vastly higher than what class I cities produced.

SEPTAGE MANAGEMENT contd…

• There is no national plan for the use of this asset.

• We are preparing a plan for pilot 1 mld Common Septage Treatment Facility(CSTF), to be submitted to the government.

• Economically the earnings from CSTF will pay for its cost both CAPEX and OPEX.

• The organizational model will be that of Social Business, involving all the stakeholders.

THANK YOU!