1. VERMICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY Mrs. Aparna Inamdar, Vermiculture Consultant Mumbai ( India), geosense2002@yahoo.co.in with People’s Initiative for Efficient Solid Waste Management

2. Road side garbage heap - a common sight in mega cities!

4.  Waste management done by Municipal corporations, Municipalities and other local bodies.  Waste transported to dumping sites in mixed form.  Composition of the waste -Biodegradables 45% -Recyclables 20-25% -Debris or inerts 30-35% WASTE MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

5.  Increasing population – Up to 60% garbage collected  Higher cost of garbage transportation  Rag pickers’ problem.  Due to excessive plastic usage: - Drain Choking - Difficulty in plastic recycling - Non-biodegradable  Poisonous gasses from burning  Health Hazards: Mosquitoes, flies, pathogens, rats, viruses, dog and cattle menace.  Proximity to residential areas. PROBLEMS WITH SOLID WASTE

6. Less than 1% of bags are recycled. It cost more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.

7. “There's harsh economics behind bag recycling: It costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic bags, which can then be sold on the commodities market for $32” - Jared Blumenfeld (Director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment)

8. Bags find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes

14. NEED FOR CHANGE WITH PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION – I  Separation of garbage into: - Bio-degradables (converted into useful soil conditioner) - Recyclables (sent for recycling)  Processing to be done at: - Household level - Housing Society level - Ward level

15. NEED FOR CHANGE WITH PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION – II  Saving up resources by recycling  End inefficient ways of collecting and transporting garbage  Useful soil conditioner made out of bio-degradable reused / sold for self- sustenance  Fulfilling social obligation / responsibility ADVANTAGES

16. TECHNOLOGY ALTERNATIVES  Energy recovery: - Refuse derived fuel pallets - Biogas - Biomass fuel - Incineration  Bio-energy for soil processes: - Composting - Organic manure - Vermiculture

17. KEY ASPECTS OF CITY WASTE CHARACTERISTICS  Quantity per capita waste in India is approximately 400-500 gms/day.  Vegetarian population generating waste with 50-55% moisture,30-45% fruit, vegetable, food biomass & 8-15% others.  Indian waste has 2-4 times more food waste with low calorific value than the west.  Most of the waste is soft succulent with calorific value of 800-1400 making it easy for bioconversion than power generation.  Highly putrefying biomass causing stink, diseases, harboring of insect vectors, rodents, ground water contamination.

18. VERMICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY  Processes all types of non-toxic organic waste using earthworms.  Extremely eco-friendly: No odour / pest problem.  Needs minimum labor.  Inexpensive.  Converts waste into best quality soil conditioner keeping plants healthy in a natural way.

19. ADVANTAGES OF VERMICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY  Harnesses atmospheric oxygen into the soil.  Faster conversion due to utilization of nutrients by plants.  Utilizes a wide variety of organics.  Self regulated, self powered, self improved eco-system.  Involves farming of beneficial micro-flora and culling of pathogens.

20. EARTHWORMS AND SOIL HEALTH EARTHWORMS  Improve soil structure,  Maintain pH and soil temperature,  Make soil porous,  Increase water retention capacity and water infiltration in soils,  Enrich soils with nutrients.

21. PROCESSING METHODOLOGY  Site selection and design  Vermibed preparation  Incubation  Waste loading  Harvesting of VERMICULTURE

22. Vermipit Design

23. Vermiprocessing at Household level

24. Vermiculture in terrace gardens

25. Vermiculture in bins made of recycled tyres

26. At residential building level (IIT Powai, Mumbai) At housing complex (Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai) In a residential lane (Joshi lane, Ghatkopar, Mumbai)

27. Vermiculture in PWD colony

28. Estate/farm management (Lonavala, Pune) Ward level Vermiprocessing (Vikhroli, Mumbai)

29. Students of National College practicing Vermiculture

30. Management of canteen and garden waste in Godrej company (Vikhroli, Mumbai)

31. Asahi Float Glass (Taloja) Universal Capsules Ltd. (Dahanu)

32. EARTHWORMS – OUR BEST FRIENDS

33. Fly Larvae Earthworms Cockroaches Rats, Ants Termites Red Worms Pot Worms Flies Mosquitoes Optimum U. S. Bhawalkar (1995) 20406080100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

34. PROBLEMS IN POPULARIZATION  Non-visibility of earthworms.  Low cost and no recurrent expenditure.  No machinery and construction required.  Market awareness not developed.  Absence of standardization of products.  No subsidy as on chemical fertilizers.

35. APPLICATIONS OF VERMICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY  Municipal solid waste management  Processing of non-toxic solid and liquid waste  Sustainable agriculture  Waste land development  Checking soil erosion

36. SOME IMPORTANT FACTS  Maharashtra generates about 14,000 tons/day of waste by 30 million people living in urban and semiurban areas.  Maharashtra requires 750 lakh metric tons of organic manure/ year.  Supply of organic-manure is 5.11 lakh metric tons/ year.

37. THANKS!