Minister for Social Welfare and Panchayats M.K. Muneer has said that a plastic waste processing plant would be built in the city soon.
The project outline was chalked out at a meeting of the Sanitation Mission held at the district collectorate here on Thursday. After detailed studies by an expert committee, steps to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) would be taken.
“Segregation of plastic from organic waste is the biggest challenge facing us today. We have to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic. This project is aimed at easing the process of recycling plastic,” Mr. Muneer said.
The project is the brainchild of Delhi-based company Techsoul Energy Private Limited (TEPL).
TEPL representatives said the segregated plastic was mixed with 30 per cent wood waste and converted into a plastic-wood paste. This pulp would then be put into a mould of desired shape. This way, a variety of value-added products could be produced.
Dermatech, a Chinese manufacturer, would supply the machinery for the plant at a cost of Rs.4 crore. The investment on machinery could be recovered within three years by selling the finished products, TEPL representatives claimed. The project, once finalised, would be executed in a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) manner. The machinery required 2 tonnes of plastic for it to function normally. Plans were afoot to incentivise the collection of plastic. Households will be given coupons in exchange for plastic waste. The coupons could be exchanged in supermarkets for products.
“This project can be replicated in other places once it is found successful here,” the Minister said.
