Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Solid Waste Management

Three firms short-listed to run waste treatment plant

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 08:23 administrator
Print PDF

The Hindu 15.07.2009

Three firms short-listed to run waste treatment plant

Staff Reporter

Corporation Council to take final decision on company


DECISION PENDING: Waste being processed at the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram in this file photo.

KOCHI: Three firms have been short-listed for running the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram.

The firms were selected from the seven that submitted their expression of interest. The selection was done by an expert committee appointed by the Kochi Corporation.

The Health Standing Committee of the corporation, which is likely to meet this week, will consider the recommendation of the expert committee and forward it to the Corporation Council. It will be the council that will take the final decision.

Meanwhile, the maintenance works at the Brahmapuram plant have been completed and it will resume functioning on Wednesday. The functioning of the plant was suspended for about a fortnight for the process.

The corporation is planning to set up a workshop at the plant site for the repair of vehicles used at the plant. The civic authorities are planning to invite agencies for running the workshop.

The construction of the compound wall and related works would begin after the monsoon season. This was decided at a meeting convened to review the progress of the work.

The culture of segregating waste at the household level is yet to gain ground in Kochi even after one year of the introduction of the concept. There was non-degradable materials, including glass, in the garbage that is received at the Brahmapuram plant. This has been causing problems for the smooth functioning of the plant, said Mayor Mercy Williams.

The civic body has sought the help of an expert agency for evaluating the work carried out by the Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Corporation (APTDC) for the corporation. The APTDC had complained that the corporation had not settled the outstanding bills. The bills can be settled only after obtaining the report of the agency and the corporation council examining it. If the bills are settled otherwise, it would invite audit objection, Ms. Mercy Williams said.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 08:31
 

Making good of e-waste

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 07:05 administrator
Print PDF

The Hindu 15.07.2009

Making good of e-waste

D.V.L. Padma Priya

After recycling, only 5 to 10 p.c. of e-waste reaches landfills

 

Stockpiles of plastic are shredded into finer pieces

Methods adopted by scrap-dealers are hazardous

A file Photo

Hazardous job: Technicians dismantling electronic waste from obsolete, broken and discarded devices. —

HYDERABAD: Ever thought what happens to our good old computers, televisions, etc. when they are finally discarded? E-waste has become one of the biggest sources for many industries for raw materials like plastic, steel, aluminium and copper. They are used to make various products.

A sample of the usefulness of recycling can be witnessed at Earth Sense Recycle Private Limited, the State’s only authorised recycling unit. Workers in protective gear can be seen stripping bare the electronic items. Each worker is assigned a component- monitor, CPUs, Cathode Ray Tubes, keyboards, mouse, printers, etc. All plastic, copper, aluminium, steel, etc. is segregated and kept in separate piles.

S. John Roberts, Earth Sense CEO, says that after recycling, only 5 to 10 per cent of e-waste actually reaches the landfills. “About 5 per cent of the e-waste comprises printed circuit boards that cannot be recycled in India and while 23 per cent of it is plastic, the rest is mild steel, copper, aluminium and steel,” he points out.

Excellent resource

After segregation, the stockpiles of plastic are shredded into finer pieces, while aluminium, copper and steel parts are collected by the respective industries. The plastic pieces are then converted into pellets and used for making chairs, buckets, mugs and the like and the metal parts are smelted and reused to make aluminium doors, copper wires, steel parts, etc. “How long can one extract metal from ore? E-waste is an excellent resource for metals in a world of depleting resources and means less burden on the environment,” says Mr. Robert.

However, only a small percentage of the useful components from e-waste are obtained from authorised recyclers. Industries continue to depend on the informal sector consisting of ‘kabadiwalas’ and second-hand goods dealers for raw material, he says.

The problem lies in not who is providing the scrap, but the way it is obtained. “The methods adopted by scrap-dealers are hazardous. The technology employed is not just rudimentary but dangerous too,” he says. Cable waste is used to cook food, and in many cases metals are melted in an ordinary stove and the effluents (with high percentages of lead and other metals) is discharged into the sewerage.

“Till the informal sector is mainstreamed into the formal sector, there is very little that authorised recyclers like us can do,” says Mr. Robert.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 07:11
 

Pirana dumping ground to turn oasis

Tuesday, 14 July 2009 12:03 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India 14.07.2009

Pirana dumping ground to turn oasis

Ahmedabad : A mountain of filth will soon get transformed into an oasis. In an ambitious plan, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is developing Pirana dumping site into a green zone. They are also considering setting up an entertainment zone in the area.

The project is on the lines of Gorai dumping ground in Mumbai, which was converted into green landscaped spaces. Pirana closure project is part of the Rs 187-crore solid waste management project of AMC under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Says a senior AMC official, "Closure involves advanced capping technology in which layers of earth, gravel and impermeable material will be used to seal the dump completely. We are also exploring the huge potential of trapped gases there, mainly methane. Extracted methane can be directly fed to nearby industries and will help in eliminating use of traditional fuels like coal and lignite."

AMC authorities have also undertaken a pilot project to measure methane concentration at the site. According to an estimate, 950 cubic metres can be expected to be extracted daily.

"The idea is to develop a green belt over Pirana dumping site. We are also developing a scientific sanitary landfill site at Gyaspur and work on the first cell is complete," says health and solid waste management chairman Praful Rawal.

The Pirana dump site is spread over 84 hectares and has been in operation since 1980. It receives 2,300 metric tonnes of solid municipal waste per day.

AMC officials will incorporate environmental mitigation measures, including an impermeable surface cover with geo-textile, top soil and vegetation layers. The site will also have landfill gas collection and leachate, the liquid that drains or leaches from a landfill, collection and treatment systems.

 
More Articles...


Page 259 of 265