New options for processing degradable and plastic waste are being considered for Kochi. The civic administrators of Kochi, who are touring Pune and Delhi for familiarising themselves with the innovative techniques of management of municipal solid waste, have extended invitations to two groups to demonstrate their methods in the city. A company operating a plant capable of producing fuel from plastic and another one which owns the technology for converting biodegradable waste into manure in 10 days have been invited to Kochi. These firms have been asked to demonstrate their capabilities before the Kochi Corporation Council, said Mayor Tony Chammany. The Kochi team had visited the site of the waste-to-energy plant of the Pune Municipal Corporation on Wednesday. The visit didn't turn out to be productive as expected as the plant had not become operational. The civic authorities informed the visiting team that the plant, with an installed capacity of processing 700 tonnes of waste a day, would be functional only by next month, Mr. Chammany said. A mini plant capable of converting biodegradable waste into fertilizer in 10 days is operating at Pimpri–Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. This plant can process up to 2 tonnes of waste a day and can be installed on 10 cents of land. The unit can be considered for decentralised processing of waste. Since the time required for processing in this unit is nearly one-fourth of what it takes in the traditional plants, it can be tried in Kochi too, he said. It takes 45 days for the waste to be converted into manure at the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram. The shorter duration of processing and the minimum land requirement for the plant are the attractions of this unit, Mr. Chammany said. If successful, the plastic processing plant could also be considered for Kochi for the management of plastic waste. The team will visit the waste-to-energy plant established in New Delhi on Friday. Mr. Chammany is accompanied by T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation; Ajit B. Patil, secretary of the corporation; and Dr. C Santha, Health Officer. Delegations from Thrissur and Kollam Corporations are also touring these cities.