BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) on Monday started its operation to send low-value plastic waste, also known as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), to Dalmia Cement Ltd and dispatched 160 tonne of RDF. Karee Gowda, Chief Executive Officer, said the agency is already sending around 100-150 metric tonnes of RDF to the waste-to-energy plant near Bidadi. BSWML collects around 400 tonne of RDF every day, he added.
Dalmia Cement has committed to take 1,000 tonne of RDF every day for its factory, and BSWML will increase its RDF capacity by effective segregation. Under the arrangement with Dalmia, the company will provide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) credits generated through the process to BSWML, providing financial benefits to the organisation.
“EPR is similar to Transferable Development of Rights (TDR) on land. With EPR, we can collect RDF from other firms and sell it to big factories. We have fixed Rs 1,000 per tonne, and if we tap 200 tonne of RDF every day, we can earn Rs 2 lakh. We now manage to collect around 400 MT of RDF. We have the potential to reach 1,000 MT and we are at it,” he said. BSWML will get EPR by next month and it will be the first civic agency in Bengaluru to get an EPR, he added.
Segregation of waste at source has significantly improved in the city following the extensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programmes to create public awareness. This has led to a notable increase in the collection of waste and approximately 350-400 tonne of RDF is collected in the city every day, he added.