Sustainable Campus Initiatives
Tezpur University
Waste management is an urgent environmental issue. The case is the same on the Tezpur University campus as well. The University duly recognizes that sustainable waste management is indispensable for decreasing ecological vis-à-vis environmental footprints and for providing a benign and dynamic work environment for all the inhabitants of the campus including visitors. The University is committed to ensuring that all forms of wastes generated are handled based on the RRRR (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover) principles following appropriate source segregation protocols including safe disposal of bio, medical and hazardous wastes. The waste segregation at source and promotion of reuse and recycling in preference to disposal of wastes and encouraging the waste-to-wealth conversion practices such as recycled paper, plastic or kitchen waste as a business model is being adopted at the University.
Anaerobic digestion (AD) process is one of the appropriate waste-to-energy conversion technologies that generate biogas. Food waste is considered a potential AD feedstock because of its biodegradable nature and availability in the hostels of the University. Tezpur University considered the conversion of the food waste into usable cooking gas (biogas) through anaerobic digestion and installed one 50 m3 capacity plant in one of the hostel. The plant is fed with an amount of 85–90 kg of food waste daily. It is found during the experimentation stage that the maximum number of LPG cylinder of 14 that could be saved per month. University will install more food waste biogas systems in other hostel based on the performance of the system and user feedback in a phased manner.
Vermicomposting technology relies upon the conjoint action of earthworms and microorganisms to rapidly transform varied types of solid wastes. Considering the simplicity and flexibility of the technology a vermicomposting unit was established in January 2009 in the University under the supervision of Horticulture Section. The prime objectives are to recycle biodegradable waste fractions in a sustainable manner and curtail the cost of purchasing organic manure from the market for landscaping ventures. Presently, the unit is running successfully to fulfil the need for organic manure for plantation/gardening works of the University. Approximately 33 quintal vermicompost was produced in the year 2020 and it is used for all sorts of landscaping activities at the University.
Bio-waste management plant or Bio-incinerator is installed at the University in the year 2017 for scientific management of biohazard generated in the laboratories of academic departments, biomedical waste generated in the University Health Centre and sanitary napkins from Women’s hostel. The various types of bio-waste generated in the departments such as microbial culture, cell culture media, biological samples like unused blood, plasma, microbes, recombinant DNA waste, recombinant protein waste, cell culture waste, agarose gel waste, SDS-PAGE waste etc. are incinerated in the plant. Ash generated after incineration is collected at regular intervals and stored in the facility for disposal at Municipality waste dumping site, Tezpur.