The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is at a loss to dispose of 20,000 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) accumulated at all the eight compost-based waste processing plants, now wants to bury the entire stock in an abandoned stone quarry in the city and cap it with mud.
The decision comes in the wake of the BBMP’s failure to get cement factories in Kalaburagi to lift the RDF pile and the two recent fires at Chigarenahalli and Kannahalli compost plants, which caused much damage to the plants and the surrounding villagers.
RDF, which is the residue of various types of waste that is shredded and removed of all moisture, can be used to fuel incinerators in cement factories and is highly combustible.
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As the temperature rises, these massive piles of RDF are a huge fire security risk, one that cement factories are unwilling to take. “Stocking RDF at the compost-based waste processing plants is also a risk to infrastructure worth several hundred crores. We have now decided to bury the entire pile underground in a quarry and [cap it with mud],” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, BBMP.
By capping the combustible RDF with mud, the threat of a fire will be mitigated. Mr. Khan added that villagers living around the quarry will also not face any odour-related issues. Moreover, the buried RDF cache can be retrieved any day, once the cement factories come around and are ready to lift it.
But it is unlikely that the factories will be willing to pay for the transport. With the nearest cement factory at Kalaburagi, nearly 600 km from the city, cement factories are asking for ₹2,500 as transportation fee for a tonne of RDF. This would mean a total of around ₹5 crore — an amount the BBMP is not ready to shell out. However, Mr. Khan said added that even if the BBMP was prepared to pay the transportation cost, cement factories were facing a slump post-demonetisation and unwilling to take the RDF.
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Fires at plants
A massive fire broke out at the MSGP compost-plant in Chigarenahalli near Doddaballapur three days ago, and it took two days to be put out. The fire was spread over several acres and more than 2,000 tonnes of RDF was burnt down, BBMP officials said.
“Huge piles of RDF at the plant is what is the biggest risk. We have protested several times demanding that it at least not be stocked at the plant, but [our voices] have fallen on deaf ears,” said B.T. Raghavendra Prasad, a man who lives near the plant.
A fire broke out at the Kannahalli waste processing plant last weekend, even as the plant was being redone after it was almost gutted in a similar fire at the RDF pile last October.