Cuttack: The municipal corporation is set to start a compost plant at the Chhatra Bazar vegetable and fruit wholesale market for proper disposal of biodegradable waste generated there.

Municipal commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra said the project had been taken up in collaboration with the market committee.

"Tata Trusts will provide the machinery and building that is expected to become operational within a month."

The housing and urban development department had directed the municipal corporations to explore the option of putting up decentralised compost plants at vegetable markets across the city.

As part of the concept of conducting cleanliness activities in a decentralised manner, the city's vegetable markets were targeted as waste generated from these places are mostly biodegradable and are comparatively easy to handle.

Accordingly, the civic body identified two major vegetable markets at Chhatra Bazar and Krushak Bazar to set up mini organic compost plants.

Waste collected from the two markets would be treated at the plants to make compost in collaboration with the respective market committees.

A compost plant is coming up at Chhatra Bazar where the civic body has already undertaken sensitisation of vendors on source segregation of waste that will help them make the compost easily.

"Tata Trusts has constructed the building and is expected to set up the machinery shortly," Chhatra Bazar Byabasai Committee secretary Debendra Sahu said. "As part of the understanding, Tata Trusts will provide a person to run the plant for six months. By then the committee is expected to get someone trained to run it thereafter."

The mini plant will make 500kg compost out of 800kg biodegradable waste provided in a day.

Sahu said the committee was expected to put in funds in addition to funds generated from selling the compost to run and maintain the plant.

It will be made mandatory for vendors to keep two coloured bins - a green one for biodegradable waste and a blue one for non-biodegradable waste.

The civic body will collect the waste for proper disposal.