At a time when proper disposal of bio-degradable waste is still a major issue, a startup in Kerala collects bio-degradable waste, converts them into compost and use them to fill the medians of Kochi Metro for gardening.
Pelican Kenterra Private Limited, the startup co-founded by pharma scientist C N Manoj, has been successfully undertaking the eco-friendly project for the last two years converting the medians between the Kochi Metro pillars into gardens filling it with the compost instead of sand. The startup has tied-up with over 100 residential apartments in the state for collecting the bio-degradable waste and converting them into compost using their patented innocolum called “composorb”.
The startup, founded by Dr Manoj and Dr Priya Rao, was inspired by the large amounts of organic waste generated in the city that ends up rotting in landfills and releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. “We wanted to bring a solution to this problem through our startup. We collect segregated wet waste from households that subscribe to our service and the waste is processed using aerobic composting techniques. The finished compost is then used to fill the median strip planters along Kochi metro lines, which hitherto used sand,” Dr Manoj said.
The startup has not only increased greenery in the city but also reduced the pressure on landfills. It offers an eco-friendly alternative that not only reduces waste send to landfills but also generates a valuable end product – nutrient-rich compost that enhances soil fertility. Further, it also completely avoids mining of soil to fill the medians.
“We are able to divert over 5 metric tons of organic waste daily from the landfills and convert it into high quality compost. We hope this provides a sustainable waste management model that other cities can emulate,” he added. Moreover, the startup has tied-up with several corporates for converting the medias between the pillars of the Kochi metro into beautiful gardens using the compost.
“Our vision is to build sustainable cities by recycling organic waste. We are happy that many companies are coming forward to partner with us in this sustainable project using their CSR fund,” Dr Manoj said adding that their startup is in the process of expanding the project to cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Lucknow etc.
For more details visit www.kenterra,in or contact 9072270007.
(This article is part of our brand campaign on sustainable waste management “Clean and Green”)
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