Garbage Disposal

Urban solid waste is a major problem in India. According to a TERI report, 70% of the Indian cities lack modern solid waste disposal system and of those who have it, don’t process more than 72% of the waste generated. Most municipalities simply dump the garbage in the landfills which leads to creation of leachate. Another major problem is the scarcity of land for dumping garbage near the urban centers of India.

Gasification reduces the total quantity of the waste. The ash generated does not have the foul odor of decomposing waste and is sanitized. The power generated from the process can supplement electricity supply. Considering the fact that most regions of the country face scheduled power cuts and the fuel import bill constitutes a major chunk of India’s imports, most electricity boards are also favor these mini power plants. Hence the only sustainable solution for India’s Municipal solid waste is gasification. The Government grants and subsidies aid in setting up of the plant, garbage collection and lucrative deals with State Electricity Boards make it an economically viable solution.

As per the MNES, government wants to bring and additional 299 Class I Cities and 36 Class II cities under “National Master Plan for Development of Waste to Energy in India”. The scheme is applicable to private and public sector entrepreneurs and organizations as well as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for setting up of waste-to-energy projects on the basis of Build, Own & Operate (BOO), Build, Own, Operate & Transfer (BOOT), Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) and Build Operate Lease & Transfer (BOLT). Government is also ready to sign a long contract of over 10 years after the party demonstrates the requisite financial, managerial and technical capability.

I wonder what is still holding these entrepreneur back. There is more money to be made in garbage that they can possibly imagine