Staff sort dry waste into 38 categories at Elcita’s sustainability park.
Credit: DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
A ‘sustainability park’ launched in Bengaluru is being hailed for its pioneering work in waste treatment and recycling.
Set up by Elcita (Electronics City Industrial Township Authority) in the heart of Electronics City, it has been successful in implementing a zero-waste-to-landfill policy.
Bengaluru’s severely deficient waste management system has resulted in the burgeoning of multiple landfills around the city, with more being planned by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML). Groundwater contamination, leachate, fires and poor soil fertility are some of the hazards of landfills. Controlling the growth of such landfills can make a substantial difference to the city’s ecosystem.
How it is done
At the park, spread across two acres, trucks bring in waste collected from the neighbourhood, which houses industries, MNCs, restaurants and hotels. They collect an average of 10 tonnes of waste daily, of which four tonnes are food waste. A weigh bridge on the premises gives them accurate numbers.
While the waste is broadly segregated into wet, dry and reject waste, it is segregated further at the facility. Food, 40% of the collected waste, is sent to a biogas plant. Leaves and sticks collected from roads and public spaces are turned into compostable material, mulch or wood chips. They account for 10%.
The dry waste is separated on the basis of size through a trommel machine and ballistic separator. It is sorted into 38 categories, like tetra packs, silver foil, milk covers, paper cups, HM (high molecular) covers and multilayer plastics. Currently, the park employs 50 people.
Articles like tissue paper, plastic covers, PET bottles and plastic food containers are recycled. Baling machines installed at the facility bale the plastics and paper into 150 kg bales, before they are sent to recyclers. The materials find new life as buttons, road surfacing, PET bottles, buckets, shoes, thermocol and jewellery boxes. This comprises 30% of the refuse collected. The remaining 20%, reject waste, is shredded and sent to a plant that makes clinkers. Clinkers are ground to make cement.
“Zero waste to landfill, down from around 800 kg waste daily a year ago is no joke. We had been experimenting and perfecting our model for 12 months. The BBMP and the directorate of municipal administration have expressed interest in our waste management model,” said a spokesperson for Elcita.
The Indian Green Building Council has given the facility a platinum rating. It was also awarded the ‘Most Innovative Project’ at the national level by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Boon for lake
At the 1.2 MLD (million litres per day) sewage treatment plant on the premises, sewage water from neighbouring villages and residential areas is treated with a membrane bio reactor. The water is passed through a membrane that removes dust and dirt. After the treatment, the recycled water is used to water plants and clean public areas in Electronics City. “After the plant was set up, the sewage water draining into the adjacent lake has been diverted,” another spokesperson explained.
The 250 kWp (kilowatts peak) solar plant has enabled the facility to be almost carbon neutral since it began operations in late November.
The first floor of the space has been earmarked for a Centre of Excellence
for Sustainable Development. Elcita hopes to use it for research and training in the field of sustainability.
HOW IT WORKS
Total daily waste: 10 tonnes
* Food waste: Turned to biogas
* Sticks, leaves: Turned into mulch, wood chips and compostable material
* Reject waste: Pulverised to make road surfacing
Sewage is filtered and the water is used for plants and cleaning public
spaces