THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is true that waste management is one of the major problems we face today. Be it the urban or rural areas, solid waste packed in plastic bags is an eyesore. The efforts at creating a decentralised waste management system are gaining momentum. But to make a cultural change it may take years. Besides the quantity of e-waste and non-bio degradable waste generated is increasing day by day. All this calls for more centralised waste treatment plants and the Chief Minister has heeded the call.
The possibility of such plants coming up is not far away. Six companies, shortlisted by the government, came to the city to showcase their technologies before the heads of local bodies. All of them need a large quantity of waste for their plants, which will enable them to convert it into valuable products such as electricity and organic manure. With the state generating 8,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day it won’t be a problem to meet the requirement.
Tako Granit Okotec
The German company can set up the plant on turn key basis. It requires 15 acres of land located at a convenient location for delivery of solid waste. The plant can generate 3 mega watts unit of power from 700 tonnes of MSW. “Our plant does not require sorting of waste. Waste is directly fed into the plant where the machine takes care of the sorting. It generates electricity and other useful marketable by products,” said the representative of the company in India, Surendra Menon. The company has set up similar plants in Germany, Spain and Romania.
Ompeco Srl
The Italian waste management company needs 2 acres of land to process 8,000 tonnes of waste. The plant produces 1,500 litres of fuel and 500 kilograms of metal in one hour. “The plant uses a patented technology to produce its own energy while processing. There is no need to sort the waste. The green house associated with the plant will capture the carbon di oxide without being released into the air. We will have to employ 50 people to run the plant,” said chief engineer Alberto Zucchelli.
Langenburg Technologies LLC
The American company claims to be using the technology developed by NASA in USA. Unsegregated waste can be fed into the plant to generate power and fuel. “Our plant is ideal for the high moisture, low-calorie waste generated in the state. For the waste generated in Thiruvananthapuram we just need a space of 30 x 30 metre,” said managing director Ajay Girotra. The company will set up the plant under the condition that the government buys the products at the market rate.
Clean Energy Holdings Pvt Ltd
The Singapore based company uses Cyclonic Combustion technology which is able to fully combust high moisture MSW with near zero need of auxiliary fuel, and produce energy which can be exported to the grid. The emission from the plant is 20% less than the EU emission standards. “We set up the plant at our own cost. The government only has to buy the products from us,” said director (operations) Sanil K Joseph. It needs 20 acres of land to set up the plant which can generate 15 MW from 1,000 tonnes of waste. It has set up plants in Malaysia, Nigeria and Vietnam.
GJ Eco Power Pvt Ltd
The company is executing a waste management plant at Brahmapuram in Kochi. At the plant, waste is segregated and uses German Bio Drying process to remove the moisture in the waste. “We need to segregate waste to get good quality products. In my opinion waste collection should be made more professional to get the desired results,” said the CEO Giby George. Passion to find a solution to waste management in the home state prompted Giby George, a United Kingdom resident, to invest in social entrepreneurship here. He has been studying the waste management system in the state for past 6 years. According to him, the plants should be set up based on the requirements of the area. For Brahmapuram plant the company has invested Rs 375 crore.
Didask Bioenergy Pvt Ltd
For Gladstone Philip, a waste management facility is like an energy park. He is setting up a bio gas plant at Sulthan Bathery. The plant will produce electricity from biogas and bio fertiliser from the slurry. Plastic gets converted into granules and glass is recycled after being powdered. To set up a plant of 5 tonnes it requires 25 cents of land.
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