Chandigarh MC to set up plant for processing mixed waste

The Municipal Corporation is planning to set up a separate plant for disposal of mixed waste generated in the city.

The civic body has invited Expression of Interest from public sector undertakings, government agencies or reputed firms/organisations having experience in handling, processing and disposal of mixed municipal waste.

MC sources said approximately 100 tonnes per day (TPD) of mixed waste was generated within the jurisdiction of the civic body.

In a public notice, the MC said it intended to engage a technically sound and financially capable agency for scientific and environment-friendly disposal of such waste through segregation, processing, recycling, co-processing or any other approved waste management technology.

Disposal of the mixed waste is a major challenge for the MC. The city generates 450 tonnes of solid waste daily. The MC has decided to process dry, wet, mixed and horticulture waste separately.

The wet waste plant will be run by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The company has offered to establish and run the plant free of cost and sent a memorandum of understanding for the MC’s consideration. The plant will be set up on 10 acres at the old site of the Dadumajra dumping ground.

The MC recently allotted the work to run a dry waste processing plant with 200-tonne capacity in Dadumajra to a Delhi-based company. The city has a garbage processing plant in Sector 25 for processing solid and wet waste. The MC is also planning to set up a plant with 60 TPD capacity for scientific processing of horticulture waste with zero liability.

MC officials believe that separating plants would ensure proper disposal with effective monitoring mechanism.

The solid waste management in the city is under the scanner of the National Green Tribunal. In the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, the MC failed to achieve 100% target in the categories of waste segregation at source and door-to-door waste collection despite spending crores on the projects in the last eight years. Chandigarh had secured a position in Super Swachh League Cities under the 3 to 10 lakh population category in the survey.