A shredder is used to convert water hyacinth into mulching material at Sulur Big Tank near Coimbatore.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.
A Coimbatore-based company that specialised in waste management and recycling has launched a trial project to convert the invasive water hyacinths found in water bodies into mulching material by shredding them with a machine.Recompose Recycling Private Limited, WWF-India and Noyyalaaru Trust joined hands for the initiative, by conducting a trial at Sulur Big Tank on Saturday (August 8, 2026).They collected water hyacinths from the tank and shredded them with a machine at the spot in the presence of Sulur MLA N.M. Sukumar.“Water hyacinth poses a huge threat to most of the water bodies. The government and local bodies are spending crores to remove the invasive species. The conventional method is to remove them using excavators and dump them on vacant land. Our attempt is to convert the invasive plant into various value added products,” said C. Prashanth, one of the founders of Recompose Recycling Private Limited.According to him, shredded water hyacinth can be a very good mulching material, especially for coconut farmers, and reduce significant amount of water used for irrigation. Shredded water hyacinth as mulching material can also reduce irrigation expenses of the Highways Department in watering plants planted along roads. It gradually turns into organic manure.A single shredder machine can shred about five to eight tonnes of wayer hyacinth a day, he stated.“We plan to make briquettes out of water hyacinth. Efforts are also on to test shredded water hyacinth in a laboratory at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to check its effectiveness as a mulching material and as a raw material for organic manure,” said Mr. Prashanth.He added that Mr. Sukumar had assured them of facilitating necessary approvals for expanding the project. Published - August 09, 2026 09:17 pm IST
