8/6/2019 THE GALLE REVOLUTION of Biogas Colloboration with City Council

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6 sustainable solutions The Nation EYE Sunday August 31, 2008 7

By Nimashi Amaleeta

D

isposal o solid waste isa majorproblem inmanycities and suburbs o SriLanka. Hitherto, Galle in

southernSriLankawasnoexception.Butnowit is.

Manystreetso thecity no longerhouseuglyheapso wasteorhavedirtydrainsthatbreeddiseaseborneinsectsin millions. Garbage is collected bylittlevillage communities, sortedandedin tobiogasplants, andconvertedintoa useulgasor householdapplica-tions.

Novel applicationConversion o organic (biodegrad-

able)wasteintobiogas,by allmeans,isnonovelnotion.Butthewayitisdoneintheseareas iscertainlynovel.Thesebiogasplantsareoperated ascommu-nity-ownedplantsandalso happentobethefrsto theirkindinAsia.Theyareserviced bylittle corporatesociet-ieslivingin proximitytotheplant.

Theidea o constructing communi-ty-ownedbiogas plantswas prompted

byHelp O,a communitydevelopmentandempowermentNGObasedin Galle.Itwas implemented throughtheHelpO Humanand EnvironmentalLinksProgramme,bywayo aCentralEnvi-

ronmentalAuthority (CEA) managedproject unded by theNew ZealandGovernment.

Theproject isadministeredthroughUNDPSri Lanka.Help Oas o todayisrenownedand very activein Galle,mainlyworkingwith womens groupsand low-incomecommunitiespromot-ing micro-creditbasedfnancialsup-portor livelihooddevelopment.

Inact,theneedorsolidwasteman-agementin Galle became a priorityonlyin theatermatho thetsunamidisasterin2004.Gallewas oneo theworsthit districtsin thecountry,war-ranting a highnumbero displacedamilies.Thedisplacedwere laterstilltranslocatedand settledinhousing ar-eascommonly dubbedtsunamihous-ingareas/schemes.

These schemesthough were moreor less and notw el l p la nn ed . T he irconstruction was ast-tracked to keepin linewith the speedy recov-ery processespromptedisland-wide during thecontemporary period.Thecase in Galle wasthat the schemes wereotenlocatedas aras10kilometres inland andlacked basic amenitiesandinrastructure.

W it h t im e, t ro ub lestartedstirringin these

schemes. The disposalo solidwasteand sew-ageincreasinglybecamedifcult. The regularservice,ratherthename-sakeservice o collectingsolid waste,executedby thelocalgovernmentswasnotavailableor theseschemesdue totheabsence o inrastructureand thedistanceactor. The waste,thereore,accumulatedin theschemes.

Gradually, the problemsworsened,creatingmuchunrestin thecommuni-ty.HelpO,havingseen thecrisisesca-lating,cametotheoretofndsustain-ablesolutionsto managethe problem.Theyreceivedthesupporto theCEAandlocalauthorities, orthe garbageproblemwasrunningout o controlatthispoint.

Adaptive managementTheapproachtheHelp Owaswell

plannedandadaptive.Theydid notap-proach thecommunities withpre-de-fned masterplans and technologiestogetrid o garbage.Insteadtheyad-opted a moregradualand systematicoutlook,continuouslymonitoring thenatureo theproblemin eachcommu-nity.

Thepilot initiativeo tacklingthegarbagebanekickedo insix selectedtsunamivillagesin Imaduwa.Initiallythisvillage practicedno properwastedisposalmethodsatall.Help Ocom-mencedworkwith thedistributiono

compostbins to 106amilies andthetechnologicalknow-howo maintain-ingthem.

Theprogrammewas well received.The messagespread within villagesandby now, Help O hasdistributedover 17,000compostbinsamong8,500amilies(twobins peramily)in fvedivisionso Galle.In additionto this,theyhavealso distributed220 compost

binsor selectedvegeta-ble, ruits andfsh mar-ketsandstallsin Galle.

T he n H e lp O c on -structeda biogas plantin the Galle MunicipalCouncil (GMC), whichw as ed w it h m ar ke twaste collected in themunicipalarea. Thankstothese endeavours,themany markets, streetsand neighbourhoods inGalle areree o gar-bagetoday.

As timeelapsed, theH el p O u nd er st oo dthat the manuactureo compostwas notthemostpractical solution

tocircumventthegarbagecrisis,par-ticularlyin smalland grassrootscom-munities. Compostwas onlymanureandit inthe longrunrenderedlittleservice to the smaller communities(unlessitwassoldonalargescale).

Community programmeTheinitiativethereorewas diversi-

fedintootherareas.TheHelp Oem-barkedon anotherproject, commonlyknownas thecommunitybiogaspro-gramme. They piloted many small-scalecommunitybiogas plantsor thecommunities thatwere hithardest bythegarbage problem.Accordingly, e-ortsweredirectedto turngarbageintoa useulgas (biogas)or householdapplications.

This programme was executed bytheHelpO incollaborationwiththepeoples company. Thepeoples com-

pany isa body registeredunder theCompaniesAct,comprisingo variousgroupso peoplehailingrom variousvillagesinGalle.

The smallest unit o the peoplescompany was the corporate societybasedin villages.Thecommunity bio-gasplantsareservicedand maintainedbythese wellstructuredcorporateso-cieties,predominantlygovernedbythewomenolk.

Thefrsto thesecommunitybiogasplants were constructed in Samagi-watte.Sixo themwere commissionedinthe frstattempt, andeachsources

gasor our to fve houses, locatedinproximityto theplant. Thegasismainlyusedor cooking.

Thememberso thecorporate soci-etiesaresupposedto eedtheplantona regularbasiswith garbage,so thatitsuppliesthe houseswitha continu-oussupplyo gas.The plantissituatedin thehome garden o onemember,whoin turnreceives reegasor lie.Theothermembers pay a eeo Rs.500,whichis creditedtoa communityund.

These unds willbe channelled orthemaintenanceo theplantandalsoorthe fnancingo additionalplantsinadditionalcommunities.Atpresent,theundsarealsobeing diversifedintootherareas,suchas loansandenviron-mentalunds.

Success storyTheprojectkickedo asa posttsu-

namirehabilitation eort.But as otoday, it hasgreatly expanded.Thereare about nineo these communitybiogasplants in Galle operating at

ullcapacity.Theyservicea totalo 44houses.

Theexpansion o the project de -mandedmoreand moregarbage.Ini-tially, the communities sufced

their garbage needs throughthewastegeneratedat house-holdlevel.The womenuse tosortout kitchenwasteathomeandeeditintotheplants.Lat-er still, thesocietymemberscollectedwaste rommarkets,whichincluded discardedpor-tions o vegetable,ruits,fshandmeat.

The collection o garbagerom markets was acilitatedby a vehicle (a combinationo cartand a bicycle)specif-callydesignedor thispurpose.A designated society memberrodethebike-cartona regularbasis,collectingthe wasterommarkets,andhe/sheispaidorthejob.

The society members werealso trained to sort out wastebeore eeding it into the plants.The plastic, glass items andother non-biodegradable stuis collected and traded at anexchange centre or cash, or inmost cases or resh vegetables,liquid ertiliser (a by-product bio-gas generation), or any other mate-rial that happens to be available at thecentre.

The liquid ertiliser, which is a by-product o the biogas system, is richin nutrients and thereore has a gooddemand. According to villagers, thisertiliser also has pesticidal proper-

ties, particularly against plant diseaserelated to the curling up o leaves (kolakoda weema) and rotting trunks.

The ertiliser also has propertiesakin to plant hormones and there-ore is commonly used to promote thegrowth o roots. These are establishedobservations made by villagers, butthe said properties are yet to be testedand confrmed scientifcally.

(Help O can be contacted on0914380121 or 0914380128. Specialthanks to the Sri Lanka Press In-stitute. E-mail; nimashi.fernando@

yahoo.com)

FamiliesspendRs.1,000toRs.2,000permonth,per amily, to purchasekerosene,uelwoodandLPGgasorhouseholdcookingapplicationspri-orto theadvento communitybio-gas plants. Now, however, noneothemusethe saiduelsand dependsolelyonbiogasthatsgeneratedbythecommunityplantinstead.

TheTeachingHospitalinKarapityahasourbiogasplantsthat runonsewage.

The programme has immenselybeneftedruralsocietiesbygenerat-inglivelihoodsormenand women.

G ro un dw or k i s u nd er wa y t o d i-versiy thecommunitybiogas pro-grammetomanagewastegeneratedin hotelsand urban councils andalsosewageonalargescale.

Plansarealsounderwaytodevise

a programmeto managethe non-biodegradable waste (polythene,plastic, glass,etc.) collected at theexchangecentre.

Theprogrammehasbeenacclaimedby the Central Environment Au-thorityand also receives supportromtheEnvironmentand NaturalResourcesMinistry and localgov-ernmentofcesinGalle.

Piyadasa was a armer in Galle whoreared cattle. He had three prettydaughters. There was one thingthat bothered his daughters. Theirather was dubbed Harak Piyadasabecause o the large herd o cattlehe reared. Quite conscious aboutit, they persuaded him to sell hiscattle. Poor Piyadasa sat on theence until he was ound there bythe Help O. The Help O revolutiontook him by surprise. Now hes no

longer Harak Piyadasa, but BiogasPiyadasa and is the proud owner oa biogas plant which runs on cow-dung. His daughters quite pleasedwith the shit have doubled upas educational ofcers, impartingknowledge to the many curiousvisitors who come to inspect the

plant. Elsewhere in Galle, householdsare persuading municipal trucks tounload garbage right at the doorstepo their homes! Unbelievable, buttrue. The Help O revolution hasturned Galle upside down!The Nation explores

Urban counci l V i llagearea Numberofb iogas Amounto fwaste Num bero f p lan ts in fed in to the housesopera tion d igester serv iced

(kg/day) byeach p lan t

Dangedara Samagiwatta 1 70 5 Samagiwatta 1 35 4

Aththiligoda Welagewatta 1 20 4

Thalapitiya Bandaranayaka place 1 40 4 M KEdmond Mawatha 1 80 4

Thadalla Walaw-watta 1 50 4 Paragahakumbura 1 40 4

Kalu wella Sirasa Mawatha 1 50 4 Maha Modara Hospital 1 40 4

Biofuels: how bio gas is generated

Biogasis produced romorgan-ic waste under theactiono mi-croorganismsthat preeroxygenree(anaerobic)environments.

Biogasis actually acomposi-tiono severalgaseslike meth-ane,carbondioxideand hydrogensulfde.Anadequatecompositiono biogasrequires55 to 75 % omethane, 30 to 40 % o carbondioxideand 1 to5 % o hydrogensulfde.

Biogasin SriLanka is com-monly used asan energy source,production and enrichment oertiliserand livestockeed. Itsapplicationsas an energy sourceis the most pronounced amongthem.The gascan be used orlighting, cooking and even run-ning generators.

Although biogasis producedromorganic waste,not all or-ganic wastecan beused topro-ducebiogas.Wasterom markets,kitchenwaste and even sewageareideal orthe purpose .Cowdung, human waste, poultrywaste, arm waste, hay, grassclippings,water hyacinth,kitch-enwaste,and alcoholproduce ahigh output o methane, whichis the predominant componentin biogas. But waste likewoodshavings,paddy husks, coconuthusks, etc., cannot be used orgenerating biogassincethey taketoolong to decay.

During the biogas generationprocess,the digestiono organicwaste takes placein a compart-ment knownas thedigester.Thedigester is usually built under-ground,and hascylindricalwallsand a domeshaped roo.Theca-pacity o thedigestervariesromeight cubic metersto 60 cubic me-ters. Thesmaller onesaremorecommonand morepractical.

A digestero eight cubic me-tersisenough tosupport aamily

o fve,operating ona daily basiswithanintakeo 25 kg o wasteperday.The cost orsucha plantis usually around Rs.50,000. All

compartmentso the plant aresealed, and thereore the plantdoesnot leak any gasoracilitatethespread o vermin.

Biogas does not emit any badodour whatsoever not evenwhen it ismadeo human sew-age!Biogasbehaves likeLiquidPetroleum Gas (LPG) when thecooker burners are opened orfre . The biogas plants main-tained underthe purviewo Help O are technologically sound.Housewiveshave beentrained todetect pressuredierencesvia asimple barometer. This barom-eterwas designed by theScienceand Technology Institute, espe-cially orthispurpose.

Thedesigno theplant isbeingcontinually improved,based on aserieso tried and tested experi-mentsdeployed inthe feld. Thedesign keeps on getting better,morespecifc and moreefcient.

What is biogas?Getting thiscommunity project

tooperatein Gallewas quitechal-lenging at frst.A lot needed tobedoneto advocatechanges in atti-

tudes.Thestigmao garbageneed-ed toberemoved romvillage soci-eties.Garbageneeded tobetreatednot aswaste,but asaresource.

It isa wellknown act that Help O,underthe potent leadership oChaturaWeliwitiya,invested a tre-mendouseort inlobbying chang-es in suchattitudes and gettinggrassrootscommunities involved.Theirpainstaking eorts,however,weresoonrewarded.

Theace o Gallechanged dra-matically. The people changed.Thepanic-prone localgovernmentauthoritieschanged.And eventheleading hospitalsin Gallechanged.Today they havemany stories osuccessto narrate.ThetransitionromHarak Piyadasa to BiogasPiyadasa,asnarrated intheintro-ductiono thisarticle,is just oneamong the many.

Thequest orgarbagein Galleisvery intense.Sometimes,not eventhemunicipal trucks arespared.They are orced to empty theirstu at the doorstepso houses,whereupon villagers eagerly sortout thewaste and eed it totheirdigesters.

Certainother members,who areexperts at operating the biogasplants,claimthat a singleloa obread isenoughto sufcethecook-ing o threemealsora amily ofve. Bread, they know through

experience,is a richsubstrateormicro organismsand hasthe po-tential to produce sufcient gastocook threemealsas said.It hasbeen tested on severalinstances,alwayswithpositiveresults.

Help O today has stolen thelimelight orits extraordinary en-deavour, whichhas revolutionisedGalle.Hatso tothem!

Hats off tothe mentors!

Biogas does not emit any bad odour whatsoever. Not even when it is made of human sewage!

(PixbyTharuka Dissanayaka, UNDP)

THE GALLE REVOLUTION

Bike-cart Inlettothe biogas plant Nursery Briging wasteto theplant

Corporatesocietymembers

Sorting waste

Biogas cooker in Mahamoderahospital

Biogas cooker

Weliwitiya