Waste management challenges in Bengaluru
Currently, the city generates approximately 5,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of waste.
Which is expected to rise to around 6,000 TPD .
The existing waste processing capacity in Bengaluru stands at about 2,000 TPD.
This includes small-scale decentralised ward-level waste processing facilities, leaving roughly 3,000 TPD of waste to be disposed of in landfill quarries without processing.
It is due to this capacity shortfall that Bengaluru has made the decision to identify locations for four additional waste-processing facilities outside the city.
Waste management challenges in Bengaluru
Waste-processing sites set up by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) such as at Kudlu, Mavallipura, Mandur, Lingadeeranahalli, Kannahalli, and Seegehalli.
These sites are encountered strong opposition rooted largely in the inefficient operations at these plants.
The plants have indeed consistently received more waste than their designed capacities and have operated at less than 50% efficiency.
This excess quantity of material in the process has resulted in leachate and odour issues, affecting the environs and livelihoods of nearby people.
Waste management challenges in Bengaluru
The new waste-processing facilities should ideally have the capacity to process 1,000 TPD.
The technology of choice should be the composting of fresh waste, which is also suitable to the weather conditions of Bengaluru.
About 60% of the waste is biodegradable wet waste, some 25% is dry waste (including plastics and other recyclable materials), and the remaining 15% consists of inert materials, such as silt and stones..
Sustainability and Efficiency
Government investment of ₹450 crore to set up seven composting facilities of 150-300 TPD capacity each in 2014.
This will convert these wet-waste-processing facilities into dry-waste management facilities.
These converted plants can dry waste generated in the city, thus reducing the transportation cost for the BBMP by 20%.
This approach could also ensure that the proposed new plants can operate at 80-85% capacity, which is a more feasible utilization rate.
Sustainability and Efficiency
New waste processing facilities will attract opposition and cost the government to transport waste to distant sites.
It is necessary to increase the waste-processing capacity of Bengaluru in order to comply with municipal solid waste management rules and the NGT guidelines.
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