Technology okay, but will such plants work in Goa?

SURAJ NANDREKAR

suraj@herald-goa.com

OSLO, NORWAY: With the State finding it tough to find solutions to the garbage issue, be it Sonsodo, Saligao or Bainguinim, the government has decided to team up with a Norwegian company for solutions to the issue.

The State government delegation, led by Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo, Goa Waste Management Corporation MD Levinson Martins and Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Environment Engineer Sanjeev Joglekar are on a 5-dsy visit to Norway and Sweden to study their wate management methods.

GWMC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Norwegian company SINTEF for disposal and recycling of construction debris and waste. 

SINTEF scientist Dr Palash Saha said the waste-to-energy plant, could produce energy for household use. 

“Norway needs energy, what it needs is heat or steam due to its climate. Plastic and other waste are burnt in an incinerator and energy is produced,” said Fortum general manager Stepgen Birklent. Asked about the smoke it produces, he said it is white smoke, which is harmless.

“The waste is sorted in three bags – blue, green and white for plastic, organic and mixed waste respectively and at the plant is sorted automatically based on colour. The white bag goes straight for burning at 850 degrees, the rest is sorted and burnt to create energy,” he said.

Responding to queries on the carbon emissions, the scientist said it’s zero. “We als­­o store the CO2 below the sea. We are doing it for entire Europe,” he added.

Palash also rejected a suggestion of using plastics for roads. “Plastic does not have binding effect and as such it is waste. You can make better use of plastic in form of enegy,” he said.

SINTEF senior scientist Dr Christian Engelsen made a presentation on recycling on construction waste to aggregate, sand and pavers. “We have done a study on Goa and have learnt that Goa produces about 500 tonnes of construction debris everyday, which is good enough to harm the environment,” he said.

He said that SINTEF will work as a consultant and provide technology to the Goa government, which will then identify land and float tenders for the project on PPP mode.

Lobo emphasised that there is a need for such plants in Goa. “We need these technologies in Goa where we have a lot of issues related to waste, be it wet, plastic or the construction waste,” he said. 

He added that the government will identify places and once that is done, SINTEF will provide the DPR (Detailed Project Reports). “These plants have zero smell, zero pollution or zero emission. This is the technology we need in Goa,” Lobo said.

Lobo was asked if such plants will work in Goa, given that the State produces far less 

RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) compared to Norway. “Today we are sending RDF to cement plants in Karnataka but once they stop taking, we will have to stock piles of plastic bottles,” he said.

On the note on how the plants will operate, it was pointed out to Lobo, that the plant needs more RDF compared to what is produced in Goa, and that construction waste is less. To this, he replied, saying, “Our RDF collection is 55 tonnes a day, but the generation is about 200 tonnes. It is just that we need to be stricter on waste collection.”

On construction and demolition waste (C&D), he said the plant is the need of hour as Goa is not getting any more aggregates and sand. “There is a ban on sand mining and stone quarries so these plants can supply this material,” he said.

The team visited Velde Industries in Stavanger to study their module in C&D waste. They were also taken to the facility of waste-to-energy plant of Fortum, in Oslo.