The city is all set to not only revive the dysfunctional biomethanisation plants but is also set to get four new plants with the same technology. There are 13 biomethanisation plants in the city each with five Tonnes Per Day (TPD) capacity, of which presently only three are partially running.
Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd. (BSWML) has now taken up a project to revive seven of the dysfunctional plants at a cost of ₹4.5 crore. It will also upgrade the remaining six in the second phase. Meanwhile, the company has also taken up a project to install four new Bio-CNG plants in Basavanagudi, Kogilu, Byatarayanapura, and Mahadevapura at a cost of ₹10 crore.
“Ten of the 13 existing plants have been dysfunctional for a long time now. Moreover, these plants need an update of technology as well, which we are carrying out now. The four new plants will also come up soon,” said Basavaraj Khabade, MD, BSWML.
Once all these works are completed, the city will have 17 biomethanisation plants of five TPD capacity each, totalling to 85 TPD capacity. While these plants put together do not add up to much capacity, even as nearly 3000 tonnes of waste is being landfilled everyday, they show the way ahead. “Ideally, we need a five TPD capacity plant in every ward of the city so that all the wet waste generated in the ward is handled within the ward itself,” said SWM activist Sandhya Narayan.
Mr. Khabade said that BSWML also wanted to expand on the biomethanisation plant infrastructure and go towards a more decentralised SWM in the city. “It will not only reduce our reliance on landfills, but also save a lot of cost as the garbage is now being transported from across the city to its northern outskirts,” he said.
However, he said the biggest hurdles to establishing new plants were two-fold - lack of space and opposition from residents around the area. “Finding space to establish these plants is a herculean task and in most places, residents oppose such SWM infrastructure in their neighbourhoods. For instance, the biomethanisation plant in Mahalakshmi Layout has been shut down a case filed by residents around the plant asking it to be shut down is pending in the Supreme Court,” he said.
