Location: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Client: M/s Organophos

Project Description and Status:The objective of the MSW compost plant is to avoid methane emissions from anaerobic decomposition of municipal solid waste (MSW) in a dump site through controlled aerobic decomposition in a windrow composting process. The aerated composting process will avoid methane emissions and will result in compost as a product that can be utilized as an organic fertilizer for agricultural purposes. The Lalganj Project in the state of Uttar Pradesh will treat MSW from surrounding zones of Varanasi and on average it will divert approximately 36,500 tons of organic waste per annum that otherwise would be disposed in unmanaged dump site if the project was not constructed.

In Lalganj, the average land holding is small and the agriculture is increasingly becoming unprofitable due to ever rising cost of labor and chemical fertilizers while the output prices are stagnating. Adoption of organic farming fully or partially supplementing the soils nutrition's by way of organic input in bio fertilizers are expected to improve the economy of the state.

IL&FS Ecosmart has taken up the initiative for marketing the compost produced from the plant along with availing CDM benefits. The CDM benefits would act as a means of subsidizing the price of compost and thus make the plant sustainable. The project currently is in construction stage.