Mandur solvent a mix of soft drink waste, says report

BANGALORE: A tank full of solvent found near a dumpyard in Mandur recently left villagers fuming. Samples of the solvent, sent to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) lab, were examined on Wednesday.
The reports negate the villagers' accusations that the liquid is hazardous waste. Analysts confirmed on Thursday that the tank full of liquid is actually a mix of soft drink waste, often used for composting.
If Bangalore's garbage alone was not enough to pollute Mandur, spotting a tank full of solvent near the dumpyard recently made villagers throw up their arms in anger.
After filing a police complaint, samples of the solvent was sent to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) laboratory at Basaveshwaranagara. The nature of the solvent was examined and analysed on Wednesday.
The tank with a capacity of 16,965 kg was found stationed inside the premises of Srinivasa Gayathri Resource Recovery Limited, which runs a composting facility there. It's learnt that the unit is located on BBMP land, right opposite the landfill from where they operate. Reliable sources in Mahadevapura regional office of the pollution control board (which had collected the sample) said they were told that the tank arrived from Hyderabad and only contained organic affluent.
The samples were examined for their chloride, sulphate and ammoniacal nitrogen content and turbidity. Their pH level was also checked and found to be within the acceptable limits (between 2.8 and 3.1 ph unit).
The samples were compared to bottles of Slice, Mirinda, Pepsi and 7 Up and found to be similar to them in nature.