Amritsar to have state’s first waste-to-energy plant

Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News service
Amritsar, January 6

Amritsar is all set to become the first city in the state to convert its dump yard into an energy plant. The Municipal Corporation of Amritsar in collaboration with Averda, a solid waste management firm, has set into motion a process to bioremediate and recycle an estimated 10 lakh metric tonnes of waste to reclaim the land and set up a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy plant.

How the process works

• Averda is using trimble machines and a ballistic separator for segregation of waste. The company will install a plant to process the waste.
• Pyrolysis is a process of chemically decomposing organic materials at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
• The process typically occurs at temperatures above 430 °C and under pressure. Later, biomass will be converted into green coal.

The project would be completed in two years, said the company officials.

Amit Bajpai, director, Averda, said, “So far, 38,000 metric tonnes of waste has been biomined at Bhagtanwala site. With this speed, we shall be able to operationalise the waste-to-energy plant in around two years. This plant will extinguish an estimated 650 tonnes of fresh waste every day.” This new plant would consume the entire waste generated in the city and nearby local urban bodies.

With participation of the MCA, Averda started municipal solid waste management in July last year and has made considerable progress not only in effective handling of waste, but also in behaviour change. He said, “We have added 50 additional vehicles for door-to-door collection of waste and increased coverage. All vehicles have dual compartments for collection of wet and dry waste separately and are fitted with GPS to enable monitoring of the operations.”

Anil Mahajan, manager, Averda, said, “We have been spearheading awareness campaigns, including door-to-door outreach, urging citizens for segregating wet and dry waste at the source itself, organising programmes in markets to sensitise shopkeepers, educate vendors in fruit and vegetable markets and training garbage collectors.”

Municipal Health Officer Dr Ajay Kawar said, “This has resulted in substantial awareness. Students are actively participating and so does masses from all strata of society. Shopkeepers are themselves installing bins.”