Deccan Herald                06.06.2013

Palike shifts sight from landfill sites

The BBMP, which had earlier identified new
landfill sites to dispose of waste, has dumped the project. Instead, it
is now focusing on installing new waste-processing plants across the
City.

Six waste processing units to produce compressed gas

The Palike, in October 2012, had identified six
new landfill sites for disposal of waste at Sunkadakatte, Challaghatta,
Bagalur, Kallabalu, Yalachaguppe and Hindalawadi, following a High Court
order. However, in order to reduce the use of land as dumping yards,
the Palike has now decided to set up waste-processing plants at new
sites.
The BBMP will set up the waste-processing plants on a
public-private Partnership model at Subbarayanavala village near
Tavarekere, Magadi Road, Mandur, Gundalahalli, Kudlu on Hosur Road, and
Kannahalli.

“It will take at least a year to set up the plants
as we need to survey the land; machines have to be bought and
formalities have to be completed. Ideally, the Bangalore Development
Authority (BDA) should have taken steps to identify places where
waste-processing units could be installed. Since they did not show any
interest, we did it,” said a BBMP official.

Noble Exchange
Environment Solutions (NEX), a company working on waste management
solutions, along with Bruhat Bangalore Hotel Association (BBHA), has
signed a memorandum of understanding with the BBMP and procured land to
set up the waste-processing units.

“We will complete setting up
the waste-processing plants at Kudlu and Kannahalli, both five-acre
land, in a year. Each plant will handle 250 tonnes of wet waste per day
and turn it into compressed gas, which will later be supplied to hotels
under BBHA in the City. We also intend to collect dry waste and recycle
them,” said K S Girish Kumar, Regional Manager, NEX.

When BBMP spokesperson S S Khandre was contacted, he said the Palike was trying to avoid using landfills.

But
the authorities might use the proposed landfill sites in future, if
they are unable to handle the waste effectively and the City’s
population grows threefold.