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Industrial waste recycling mechanism rendered futile

Transportation of waste, pricing hinder the ambitious project
Last Updated 19 April 2014, 21:08 IST

The best way to deal with the menace of industrial waste is by recycling it among other industries. However, despite cement industries showing interest in using industrial waste, the mechanism is not picking up due to transportation and pricing problems.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) is supporting this move of using waste generated from various industries, especially pharmaceutical and steel, to maintain the environment and ensure that waste is well utilised. But they are unable to work out the logistics.

According to KSPCB, there are over 200 pharmaceutical and steel industries in Karnataka and around 40 cement industries.

Vice president of Academy of Certified Materials Managers-India Chapter, Bangalore Institute of Technology, B S Jai Prakash, told Deccan Herald: “The biggest problem on ground is transportation of waste. The waste-producing industries are bound to bear the cost of transportation. Further, as high prices are quoted, there is no sale and problems are also increasing as there are no set rules to manage the cost.”


There is no designated place to deal with the waste, manage it and sell it. “Once these problems are solved, this new mechanism will help industries meet the rising demand for cement from construction industries, as more can be generated,” he said.

Incinerable waste like silica sand, calcium bicarbonate and clay are burnt to make cement at a temperature of 1,500 degrees Celsius using conventional oil or coal, he said, adding that waste like slag and organic waste generated from pharmaceutical and steel industries can be used instead of coal. This can reduce dependence on coal and instead other industrial waste generated will be utilised.

KSPCB chairman Vaman Acharya said that the Board was supporting this initiative and since the last one-and-a-half years, many seminars have been held to promote recycling of industrial waste. So far, only three Gulbarga-based cement industries are using industrial waste as fuel. If this picks up, not only will it handle waste effectively but also generate revenue. This will also help reduce hazardous waste from being released into the environment, he added.

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(Published 19 April 2014, 21:08 IST)

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