A group of councillors along with the journalists from Mormugao visited the bio-mining plant of Pune to see the functioning of Solid Waste Treatment plants (SWTP) by Bhumi Green Energy Pvt Ltd.
It may be recalled that a similar type of plant was installed at Headland Sada, Vasco, by the same company, which will run on the same technology. It was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo. Sawant had then expressed his satisfaction with the functioning of the plant and had also said he would be willing to set up such plants that use clean technology in Goa wherever needed.
In Pune, the visiting team from Goa checked out three SWTPS in Pune municipal area, treat around 200-250 metric tonnes of mixed waste each on a daily basis with the use of bio-mining technology. They were also informed about a SWTP that treats dry waste of 150 tonne capacity.
Bhumi Green Energy Pvt Ltd, Director Vijay Tilekar said the vision of the company is towards a cleaner environment, sustainable development and to reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. From the plant’s point of view, it has been running successfully without any interruptions.
Tilekar gave the example of one of the plants located at Hadapsar, Pune, where the final output is organic manure, which they give to the farmers for their agricultural activities.
During an interaction with the SWTP supervisor Anil Tambe, he said they follow the guidelines of the Fertilizer Control Board and that high quality compost is produced.
“On a daily basis, Pune municipality dumps around 200 tonnes of waste at the SWTP. On this, we do site separation, density separation, culturing, and using “wind throw mechanism” we make superfine compost. Rejected waste is used for scientific land filling,” said Tambe.
He further informing about second SWTP which is used for treating dry waste of 150 tonne capacity. “We receive around 200 to 250 tonnes of dry waste daily and from that Refuse-derived Fuel (RDF) and compost is made,” he said.
For RDF, 3000 CV is maintained, so that a buyer can buy it for factory, boiler factory, for power generation etc, the company officials informed, adding that the quality of the product is the reason why it is high in demand.
Tambe further pointed out that the SWTP is fully automatic and around the 17th minute of production, they get the bi-product of Solid Waste.
“Around 15 to 20 percent of reject waste is kept aside, RDF is kept aside and compost is also separated,” he added.
On a larger note about the functioning of the SWTPs, the supervisor informed that this project was started in June 2016, at Wadgaon, Pune. The visiting team was also informed that it works on the basis of government providing the land and processing fee but the technology is made and used by the company.
On a concluding note, when asked about the compliances and guidelines, Tilekar stated that National Environment Research Institute (NERI) from Nagpur does the audit of the company. He further claimed that the agency is likely to do research article on the clean and environment friendly functioning of their system, which will be published as a success story.
Plans for Goa
Bhumi Green Energy Pvt Ltd, Director Vijay Tilekar opined that if two such SWTP plants come in both the districts of Goa, then the entire garbage problem in the State could be solved within six months.
“As per my knowledge, Goa generates 700 metric tonnes of waste and during rush period it goes up to 1,200 tonnes. During the monsoon it remains at 700 tonnes. And if this is true then the garbage issue of Goa can be solved within a time of six months given that everything goes smoothly without any obstacles,” said Tilekar.
Elaborating further on the bio-mining plant for which district model, Tilekar said that the panchayats and municipalities of the respective districts can directly dump their waste at the plants for processing.
Speaking about there is a requirement for two plants; he said that the Vasco area generates 30 tonnes of waste daily and that the biomining technology will require at least 100 tonnes of waste to treat so that the SWTP can function smoothly.
He also chose to allay common misconceptions and fears that people have and said that sometimes it has a lot do with the foul smell. “But we have a technology where the waste will be odourless,” he added.
He also added that they are ready to accept the challenges, while pointing out that sometimes the opposition to SWTPS is because of previous projects that failed to curb the garbage menace.
