September 24, 2021: The civic body authorities in Hinjili town in Odisha’s Ganjam district have set up a processing plant to recycle fish waste into value-added products, mostly liquid fertiliser, an official said on Thursday.
Processing Plant to recycle fish waste
According to Manoranjan Sahu, executive officer of Hinjili Municipality, the composting facility will digest the waste and produce fish amino acid, an organic substance utilised by farmers to boost productivity.
“Every day, approximately 20-25 kg of garbage is collected from fish markets in the municipality region, and processing has begun on an experimental basis,” he explained.
The costing and procedure
He said the fish amino acid will be created after 21 days of waste processing, and that the equipment and two grinding machines had cost roughly Rs 5 lakh to set up.
According to Sahu, a nine-member women’s self-help group has been taught to process fish waste. He also mentioned that the municipal government is looking into the possibility of processing poultry waste.
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Similar processing plant to recycle fish waste in Chennai
The Central Institute of Brackish Water Aquaculture (CIBA), a few months back, had developed a technology to recycle fish waste into a value-added product.
Speaking to The Times of India, CIBA director K. K. Vijayan said fish waste is generally dumped on the road or on the shore and the waste accumulated posed various health risks. This was one of the reasons that pushed the CIBA to find a technology to recycle it, he said.
Explaining the process, Vijayan said, first, the waste would be ground. Three reagents would then be added to the ground powder. This is kept for three days, after which the solid and liquid materials from the ground waste would get separated. While 80% of the waste gets converted into oil, another 10% becomes solid waste. This oil when used in aquaculture farms would enhance the growth of fish or shrimps, which in turn will help in reducing the consumption of feed. The solid waste is used as manure for raising saplings, vegetables or other trees. “It has two advantages —the waste is not dumped on the road, and, when the waste is recycled it generates revenue for those involved,” Vijayan said.
By Sugyani Mohapatra
