BSWML aims to raise dry waste supply to 500MT daily by month-end

BENGALURU: Only 200 Metric Tonnes (MT) out of its quota of 600MT of sorted dry waste from the city is currently being sent daily for power generation, and the target is to raise the quantity to 500MT by speeding up the segregation process, said Bangalore Solid Waste Management Authority (BSWML) Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda on Thursday. Gowda, who inspected the waste-to-power plant at Bidadi, said the remaining 400 tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is being supplied daily from Mandurs legacy waste segregation and dry waste collection units. The plant was set up on equal partnership by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) formerly BBMP and the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). The engineers have been directed to speed up segregation of the dry waste collected from households and meet the target of 500MT per day. By November end, we will stop depending on Mandur, Gowda said, adding that the plant is currently generating 11.50MW power per day. According to BSWML engineers, the RDF is now being segregated at the stage of door-to-door garbage collection. As a result, the number of compactors heading to the landfill came down from 390 to 340 last month, they said. It is estimated that an average of 35% of the 6,000MT waste produced in the city every day is plastic. Of this, recyclable plastic is processed through dry waste collection facilities and only low-grade plastic is sent to the waste-to-energy unit. According to KPCL Executive Engineer Satish Kumar, the plant is currently powering 25,000 households, and the capacity can be doubled if segregation is intensified and streamlined. If each household consumes an average of five units of electricity per day, it is possible to supply electricity to about 25,000 households. If the waste segregation is improved, three more units can be installed, and electricity can be supplied to one lakh households, Kumar said. The Bidadi plant has been constructed on a Design, Finance, Construct, Operate and Transfer (DFCO&T) model on 163 acres of land owned by KPCL. Kumar said the plant runs in compliance with Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) directives and does not pollute air. All precautionary measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the smell, he said.