GCC to up waste processing to 10,000tonnes a day at Kodungaiyur

Chennai: As the city's waste is expected to rise to 17,500 tonnes daily by 2050, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is expanding its biomining capacity at the Kodungaiyur dumpyard. From the current 2,100 tonnes daily, GCC plans to scale up to 10,000 tonnes to reclaim the 300-acre landfill faster.
"About 2 lakh tonnes have already been processed of the 66.52 lakh tonnes in the dumpyard. Scaling up will help reclaim the dumpyard faster," said GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran.
The 640-crore project, set for completion by early 2026, will include four more biomining machines to speed up the process.
Drone images shared by the corporation show all three contractors who took up the work have commissioned their plants, and a legacy landfill in a sizeable area has been opened up for waste to be treated with bio-enzymes and exposed to sunlight. The entire landfill, about 10-12ft high, has been cut into about 50 rows for air and sunlight to penetrate the mid and bottom parts of the legacy waste. The waste is allowed to loosen for about two weeks, after which it is sent into the conveyor, where plastic, rubber, soil and other waste are separated. Of the reclaimed waste so far, about 30% is plastic, 25% is cloth, 30% is biodegradable waste and the remaining consists of glass and wood.
GCC plans to set up a waste-to-energy incineration plant in the reclaimed area; however, finalisation of this project is yet to be approved.
Several residents continue to protest against the possible release of carcinogens from this plant, as similar cases have occurred in New Delhi's Okhla plant. Ramachandra Rao, a senior citizen living adjacent to the dumpyard, said they should reclaim it and leave the land as is, like in Perungudi. "No polluting plants must come here," he said.