The government has decided to set up a waste recycling park on 1,000 acres of land identified near Madhugiri taluk in Tumakuru district, said Bengaluru Development minister K J George on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, George said that he would not reveal the exact location of the park, as it might trigger protests by locals, like it had happened in Mandur.

He said that the “environment friendly” park will be developed in an abandoned stone quarry, on the lines of a similar plant in Seoul, South Korea. 

“We don't want to reveal the name of the place, because we don’t want people to start protesting. 

There are not many villages around this land, which will be acquired by the KIADB. We will create a bypass road, and a tall compound around the park. A tree park will be created on the waste disposed of here. Waste will be segregated mechanically,” he added. George however said that this would be a “stand by”project.

George also said that there was a controversy over the ‘waste drop boxes’ that have been set up in 12 places in and around Bengaluru by Embassy Golf Links company owned by him. He said that the boxes were not like the ones that dotted street corners earlier. 

“There is an impression among people that dustbins will be re-installed. These are 1,500-kg bins that have been installed around specific locations like Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha, Cubbon Park, MG Road and Lal Bagh, which receive large number of visitors,” he said, adding that this was a pilot project. 

As many as 2,232 smaller bins costing Rs 16,000 will be installed across the city. The waste drop box stand will have two bins - one for wet waste, and the other for dry waste. 

George said that as many as 20 waste-to-energy plants will be set up inside the City, like it has been done in New Delhi. As several companies had evinced interest in setting up these plants, an expert committee had been constituted to select the project executor. A meeting would be held on June 6 in this regard.