Nod to policy on urban waste compost

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy to make compost, made from municipal solid waste, offering assistance of Rs 1,500 per tonne on its sale. The compost can then be used as organic fertiliser by farmers.

Market development assistance to the tune of Rs 1,500 per tonne is expected to lower the retail price for farmers, said Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar after the Cabinet meeting.

The basic problem in increasing acceptability of organic manure is its prohibitive cost, which shuns prospective buyers. Organic manure costs around Rs 7,000 per quintal, while the price of urea is around Rs 5,500 per quintal. So, unless the sale price of organic manure is brought below that of urea, the acceptability and use of organic manure will remain limited to a few segments.

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At present, city compost is being sold to players such as ILFS and Kribhco.

City compost, according to Kumar, is rich in nutrients and the decision is in line with the government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Compost from city garbage not only provides carbon and primary or secondary nutrients to soil, but also helps keep the city clean.

City compost will also be standardised with the eco-mark to ensure environment-friendly quality product reaches the farmer, a release said. Fertiliser companies and marketing entities will be asked to co-market the soil nutrient with chemical fertilisers through dealers' network. To start with, marketing and promotion of city compost are proposed to be done through the existing fertiliser companies.