🥥 A coconut shell crisis

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The city’s lone processing plant is inadequate in ridding the problem of coconut litter.

Story so far: Who doesn’t like drinking tender coconut water in the summer? But the increase in profits for coconut vendors brings with it the problem of discarded coconut shells littering the roads and pavements. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) operates only one coconut shell processing plant.

  • Bengaluru generates around 300 tonnes of coconut shells on a typical summer day. The BBMP plant can process only 40 tonnes of coconut shells.
  • Plant workers also complain about an insufficient workforce. Earlier, the BBMP had floated a tender for another plant, but the project hasn’t come through.

Why it matters? Coconut shells are processed into cocopeat, a fertiliser for plants. They are also processed into coir, a fibre for making ropes and mattresses. With the Palike taking a backseat, private firms are attempting to set up a new plant.

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