Bengaluru: Following difficulties in clearing tonnes of dry leaves, spread over 200-300 acres of area, the horticulture department is all set to compost leaf waste in Lalbagh. Cubbon Park had earlier taken up leaf composting.
Joint Director of Horticulture, Dr. Jagadeesh said, “This is a demo, for which we will use smaller leaf composters to begin with. Cubbon Park just started this experiment a few weeks ago and we are launching it next week in Lalbagh. These composters can at present clear only 5 percent of leaf waste. The real, bigger composters should be able to handle 80 percent of the park’s load.
“We decided to try this, on the suggestion of solid waste management expert Ramakanth. If it works, we will opt for bigger composting pits,” he added.
Mahantesh Murgod, Deputy Director of Cubbon Park, said, “About 2,000 kg of leaves brought in by two tractors can be stored in one pit which is 5×5 feet in diameter and height. Coco peat, neem cake powder, a micro-organism solution and water are used to decompose the leaves. Within four months, 300 kg of manure will be ready to be used in the park. Other than difficulty in cleaning the dry leaves, there are also chances of leaves catching fire,” he said.
Cubbon Park has eight composting pits, near Bal Bhavan, Wadiyar statue, UB City, Vidhana Soudha among others places.
