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Coimbatore Dumpyard Overflows with 929,109 Cubic Meters of Legacy Waste
30 Aug
Summary
- 929,109 cubic meters of legacy waste piled up at Vellalore dumpyard
- Coimbatore Corporation failing to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules
- Inadequate waste processing leading to 110 tons of mixed waste dumped daily
As of August 30th, 2025, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has reported a staggering 929,109 cubic meters of legacy waste piled up at the Vellalore dumpyard in Coimbatore. This alarming situation has prompted the CPCB to direct the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to ensure the Coimbatore Corporation complies with the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016.
The directive follows joint inspections by the CPCB and TNPCB in July 2025, which highlighted the city's continued non-compliance at the Vellalore site. The inspections revealed that of the 1,100 tons of waste handled daily, only about 990 tons were being processed, and the waste reaching the facility was found to be mixed waste. Furthermore, the chicken and meat waste processing facility at the site was closed in February 2025, leading the Corporation to send around 15 tons per day to private facilities in Madurai, Kerala, and Karnataka, without maintaining proper records.
The CPCB also observed that due to inadequate treatment capacity, nearly 110 tons of mixed waste were being dumped in the open near the windrow composting facility every day. The windrow composting process was also found to be not carried out as per guidelines, with each windrow resembling a heap of waste rather than a layered composting arrangement. Additionally, the sanitary landfill at the site was not equipped with garland drains to collect leachate during the monsoon, and the leachate treatment plant was not being operated regularly.
