About 48,000 tonnes of non-recylable waste generated in the State between January 2023 and December 2023 was sent to cement factories as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for energy recovery, according to official estimates.
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It included 29,826 tonnes generated under the government sector and about 18,205 tonnes from the private sector. The reject waste generated State-wide in households and shops was segregated at material collection facilities (MCFs) and sent to cement factories for onward utilisation towards energy generation, according to estimates by the Department of Local Self-Government.
The local bodies managed the collection of dry waste from households and establishments with the assistance of Haritha Karma Sena members under the Kudumbashree network of self-help groups. Subsequently, the collected waste undergoes segregation at MCFs and resource recovery facilities (RRFs). Recyclable waste is sent to recycling units while non-recyclable waste is directed to co-processing facilities, including cement plants as RDF for energy recovery, it said.
The Department pointed out that the State had made significant investments in infrastructure for the storage of dry waste. Currently, there are 167 RRFs, 1,981 MCFs, 20,904 mini MCFs, and 57 storage godowns, covering an area of 4.9 lakh sq.ft. It stated that there had been a significant increase in door-to-door waste collection across the State in the 2023-24 fiscal.
Haritha Mithram mobile application facilitated development of a systematic approach on customised strategies for increasing door-to-door coverage. The volume of dry waste delivered to MCF and RRF facilities in this fiscal has increased correspondingly. Forty-one more godowns were set up to accommodate the increased amount of collected waste, it said.