Kochi will soon try its hand in converting plastic waste into fuel.
The civic authorities will shortly invite a Pune-based company for setting up a plant for processing plastic waste.
It is a zero investment programme that the civic authorities have in their minds. The entrepreneur will set up the company and pay royalty to the Kochi Corporation for the fuel they produce from the waste, according to indications.
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The investment of the civic body will be in the form of a shed for installing the machinery. Plastic refuse, the raw material for the company, will be provided by the corporation and the company will process it to produce crude oil. The representatives of the company will shortly reach the Corporation Council for a demonstration.
Terms and conditions
The terms and conditions for setting up the factory will be worked out shortly, said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.
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The city churns out large quantities of waste and around 60 tonnes of waste has piled up in different parts of the city including the premises of the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram. Besides the plastic carry bags, the proposed plant will have facilities to process thermocol and plastic body parts of automobiles.
Discarded plastic waste, especially plastic carry bags, is causing severe environmental hazards in the civic body including water logging.
The plastic carry bags choke drains preventing the flow of floodwater and cause water logging, it was earlier pointed out.
In an attempt to contain the burgeoning heaps of plastic waste, the civic authorities had made some attempts to use it along with bitumen for tarring roads.
Trials were also conducted in a few roads in the city using plastic and bitumen combination. At present, the corporation is selling plastic refuse for Rs. 1.40 a kg to a Chennai-based firm.
One of the advantages of the proposed plant is that it will clear the accumulated plastic from the city streets besides bringing in revenue. While the firm will get the raw materials for the plant free of cost, the city stands to gain from the project as it can manage the waste without making any investment, claimed Mr. Ashraf.