With the Bandhwari plant still defunct, the only way out is to inspire condominiums and societies to develop their own waste-disposal systems.
In an effort to initiate processing of domestic waste at source, the MCG is considering setting up compost plants at residential colonies.
MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav pitched for the idea during his visit to a compost plant at Uniworld Gardens in Sector 47.
Following his visit to the composting plant, Yadav Tweeted, “…300kg kitchen waste is being reprocessed and reused without much investment. Need to replicate all over city.”
Yadav also said that the MCG plans to set up more compost plants at Chakkarpur, and another in the same area.
The Bandhwari waste-treatment plant, the city’s only waste-processing unit, has been defunct since June 2013. So, the only way out of the stalemate is to inspire condominiums and gated societies to develop their own waste-disposal systems.
For a compost plant to work, waste has to be segregated at household level. Residents are thus advised to dump waste in different-coloured bins for organic waste, mixed waste and recycled waste.
The waste— picked up by MCG workers — is carried to the nearby composting plant where organic waste is converted to manure and those, which can be recycled, are segregated.
“The compost plant at Uniworld was started in December 2017 and, since then, on an average, we have been segregating 300 kg of waste and converting them into compost through a completely natural process. The only machine involved in the process is a shredder. In the last four months, 33,000 kg kitchen waste has been converted into compost,” said Rahul Khera, founder of a start-up engaged in decentralising waste.
To laud such efforts, during the Republic Day function at Tau Devi Lal stadium, residential societies such as GurgaonOne, Nirvana country, Indian Air Lines Pilot Society, DLF Summit and Richmond Park, were felicitated for taking up innovative in-house waste segregation and disposal practices.
The revival of the Bandhwari plant is facing resistance from the farmers, who claim chemical leak from the defunct plant has contaminated nearby groundwater resources, leading to cancer deaths. The proposed waste-to-energy plant is anyways not scheduled to start processing waste before June 2019.
Therefore, MCG officials are looking to establish one major compost plant at each of its 35 wards by the end of this year. It is also in the process of developing a new waste app, which will enable residents to upload pictures of waste piles, and their complaints are to be addressed in 72 hours.
