Desperate to find a solution to city’s worsening garbage problem, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a last-ditch effort has now decided to approach global companies to set up waste-to-energy plants in the city.
According to the civic officials, the civic body has invited expression of interest (EoI) from companies who have experience and a sustainable technology to treat garbage and generate energy from it. Reputed companies from Germany, South Korea and Sweden, who are leaders in this field, are expected to respond to BMC’s calls in this regard, they said.
A waste-to-energy incineration plant uses the heat from the combustion of waste to generate steam in boilers. The steam in turn drives turbines linked to generators to produce electricity.
The city generates 6,500 metric tonnes of waste everyday. However, with dumping grounds exhausting their capacity, the civic body is facing a tough task to treat garbage in the city. The dumping sites at Deonar and Mulund are already full and there is a growing opposition to Kanjurmarg dumping ground from the locals.
To overcome the garbage problem, the BMC is planning to set up three waste-to-energy plants, one each for island city, eastern and western suburbs. The capacity of each plant will be 100 metric tonnes.
“We have to take immediate measures before the garbage disposal problem goes out of hand. These plants would be a
great help as they will treat waste and also generate energy. Based on their performance, we will decide to increase the number of plants in the city,” said a senior civic official from the solid waste management department.