Palike finally has a plan for wet garbage

16 bio methane-based plants to help slash garbage disposal and power bills

The plants, which would be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 60 lakh each, will have the capacity to extract bio methane from five tonnes of wet waste. With the 16 plants, Palike intends to generate at least 800 KV of power. Apart from funds, the Palike would require plots measuring a minimum of 5,000 sq ft for each bio methane-based power plant.
The Palike is pushing hard to ensure that these plants come up by the end of 2012. The plan will not only save money on transportation of garbage, but will also help Palike cut down on its monthly electricity bill that runs into crores of rupees.

The Palike had floated tenders twice for setting up bio-methanised power plants but only one bidder had come forward, compelling the Palike to withdraw it. Now, for the third time, the Palike is going to float the tender through the government portal for e-procurement.

The plants will come up at Mathikere, KR Market, Nagapura, Gandhinagar, R R Nagar, Devarachikkanahalli, Jayanagar, Pattabhiramanagar, Koramangala, Domlur, Sankey Road, KR Road, Garudachar Palya, KR Puram Market, Kenchanahalli and Kuvempu Nagar.

On an average, the City generates 3,000 tonnes of garbage every day. The Palike spends a whopping Rs 350 crore annually on garbage disposal, starting from door-to-door collection of garbage to its transportation to the garbage dumping yards and then on processing it at the dumping yard. There were long-pending demands for garbage disposal at the local level, but now Palike is serious about acting on the suggestions.

“Ironically, the Palike pays for garbage disposal, when it can actually rake in profits through the process,” said an official source.

In addition, the Palike pays Rs eight crore a month towards power for streetlights to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom). With the bio-methane-based power plants, Palike will be able to reduce its dependence on Bescom by half. Besides generating bio-methane, the Palike will also be able to produce compost that can be used in its parks.

“The biggest advantage is that we will be able to save money spent on transporting garbage. Every day, we spend Rs 1,000 on every tonne of garbage just for transporting it. It’s a huge loss for us. As these units will be located near residential areas, our transportation cost would come down significantly. Also, we can save on our electricity bills,” said a senior official of the Palike.

For the success of this plan, the Palike will have to educate the people about garbage segregation at source and ensure regular arrival of wet waste from bulk generators like apartments, hotels, firms, canteens and vegetable marts.

“We are going to award a contract to educate masses about garbage segregation at source, without which the scheme will not become successful,” said an officer.

The Palike is also considering taking up a pilot project where resident associations will be encouraged to generate power using garbage.

Palike officials said the civic agency is trying to enlist the support of enthusiastic associations.