Palike to use Israeli technology for garbage-to-wattage plan
Kitchen waste to be turned into biofuel for generating electricity
The BBMP is looking to overcome the growing problem of garbage disposal, by utilising the 3,000 tonnes generated each day in the City to produce power. 
The Palike has decided to turn its landfills into alternative power units. Even as its projects to turn the Mandoor and Mavallipura landfills into power generating units are yet to be realised, BBMP plans to have two more such units using garbage.
Garbage will be converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) through a new technology. The kitchen waste will be turned into biofuel to generate power. An Israeli technology - using water to segregate the waste and then generating power from it - is being employed. Sources said one of the units will come up at Kammanahalli and a request for proposal has been floated for the purpose.
Also, BBMP will set up an automated garbage processing unit with a capacity of 750 tonnes in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. According to sources, while the RR Nagar plant will not generate power, it will have the capacity to produce RDF, which can be used for generating power.
“The RR Nagar plant will help us restrict the number of vehicles carrying garbage, moving towards the north of the City (where all three major landfills are located at Mandoor, Mavallipura and Terrafarms) as the garbage processing unit is proposed at RR Nagar in the south,” said a Palike official.
Meanwhile, approval has been sought from the Palike council for the 10-MW Mavallipura power plant. According to BBMP sources, the company has got the approval from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has promised to provide water for the power plant. “The matter has come up before the BBMP council, and it will be cleared shortly,” said the official.
The Ramky company had been promised 100 acres to set up a power generation unit, but the Palike has been unable to find land, due to the opposition from villagers to allot land for the project, said the official.
The Mandoor landfill - which was already handed over to a Andhra Pradesh-based contractor - has run into technical difficulties and requires an additional investment of Rs 5 crore. “We had a meeting with officials of the Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy and have sought their assistance. The matter should be resolved soon,” said another senior Palike official, who refused to be quoted.
