Ficci has called on the private sector for an enhanced role to convert waste into wealth. The industry chamber?s recommendation is based on a new survey, which has found that some large cities in the country dump most of their municipal solid waste at unorganised dumpsites and shy away from undertaking landfill gas to energy projects due to lack of technical know-how, trained manpower and financial resources.
The survey of 22 cities on the management of municipal solid waste has revealed that 14 cities dump 75% of their solid waste. While Mumbai sends 100% of its waste to dumpsites, Delhi dumps 94% of its waste.
Cities like Faridabad, Greater Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Pune and Surat, which are at the higher end of the waste generation spectrum, dispose off more than 80% of the waste in landfills.
Saying that solid waste management has a long way to go before Indian cities can claim to be environment friendly and clean, the survey notes that waste treatment options such as composting and waste-to-energy plants are not being adequately explored by even those cities, which are larger not just in terms of size and population but also generation of waste. While one tonne of waste is estimated to produce 55 m3 of gas, 12,000 m3 of gas produces 1 mw power. Some cities generate up to 15,785 tonne per day.
The survey notes that 15 cities have evinced interest in undertaking landfill gas to energy projects, if they are provided assistance in the form of technological support, capacity building of officials and knowledge on methane capture and utilisation projects. Greater Mumbai is the only city in the country to have undertaken a landfill gas to energy project in India.
One way of overcoming these constraints could be greater private sector participation in management of municipal solid waste. The private players who have better know how and resources should be roped in to work hand in hand with authorities to ensure proper waste management in cities, suggests the survey.