Bengaluru: Within two months, a mammoth 13 lakh kilogrammes of waste that has been processed as fuel, will be lifted from the overburdened six recycling plants in the city.
At a recent meeting with cement industries and civic officials, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) negotiated the removal of accrued Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) within two months.
In the plants, inorganic waste - primarily plastic - is shredded, crushed and moisture entirely removed to form RDF, which can be used as fuel in the incineration plants of cement factories. Since the project started, over 18 lakh kilogrammes of RDF has been manufactured, of which just 5 lakh kg have been taken by cement plants.
Though the fuel is being given for free, for the cement plants, the high transportation costs had become a major hindrance. Much of the factories are in north Karnataka, at a distance of over 500 km. The cost of transportation came up to Rs. 2,500 per tonne.
The estimate for removal of the accumulated RDF comes up to more than Rs. 3.25 crore. “As a temporary measure, we have asked the cement factories to use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to lift the waste. But, in the long term, we will work with the BBMP to bring out a policy to sort out this issue,” said Lakshman, Chairperson, KSPCB.
The accumulation of RDF in processing plants has already resulted in two major fires — at the Kannahalli plant in October and at the Chikkanagamangala plant in November.
Policy for RDF
“Once this accumulated RDF is cleared, we will look at evolving a viable model for dealing with the produced fuel,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), BBMP. The model could involve BBMP seeking State government support to subsidise the transportation cost by more than 50 per cent.
What is RDF
Outcome of crushing inorganic waste (plastic) and removing moisture
Calorific value: 1,500 kilo calories per kg
Can be incinerated by using just 5 per cent fuel
Production
Six waste processing plants can produce up to 1,350 tonnes of RDF per day
18,147 tonnes of RDF produced so far
Just 5,126 tonnes have been lifted by two cement companies so far
The problem
Cement factories are in north Karnataka
Transportation costs: Rs. 2,500 per tonne
Cost is not viable for factories
Solution
Cement companies asked to utilise CSR funds temporarily
BBMP to devise means to subsidise transportation cost
