Model Colony gets first bio-gas plant
Times of India: About a month from now, the five-tonne wet waste generated in Model Colony ward will not be wasted, but will be used to light the streetlights in the ward. A bio-gas plant has been commissioned in the ward which will convert waste into gas and the gas into electricity. The plant is the first to come up after the Pune Municipal Corporation’s decision to collect and process waste at a decentralised level.
Corporator Jyotsna Sardeshpande, who took the initiative to implement the project in her ward said the cost of the bio-gas plant is Rs 48 lakh. However, this amount will be recovered in a matter of three to four years.
“Basically, we will be saving the electricity cost spent on streetlights. The indirect saving will be the expenses the civic body incurs while transporting the garbage to the Urali Devachi landfill site. In addition, there are environmental factors like curbing pollution generated from the trucks that transport the garbage. There is a small component of organic waste that is also produced and can be used in municipal gardens,” Sardeshpande said.
She explained that about 300 units of electricity will be generated everyday from the project which will light at least 300 streetlights.
“The project is being executed by Enrpotech solutions, a city-based agency which has successfully implemented similar projects in Mumbai, Thane and other cities. We had visited these projects to ensure that we are not wasting money, and the technology used is environment-friendly,” Sardeshpande said.
Sanjay Nandre, director, Enrpotech solutions, conducted a demonstration of the functioning of the bio-gas plant and explained how the waste goes through the process of shredding, mixing, digestion, hydraulisis and acidic phase to arrive at the final product.
“The plant will be able to process five tonne of wet waste everyday and it will not nuisance to residents living nearby. We will be using a solution to control the stench coming from waste, which also does not emanate all day but for a few minutes. It can take in hotel waste, kitchen waste and even slaughterhouse waste,” Nandre said.
Sardeshpande said that she had taken her ward residents into confidence while embarking upon the project and explained to them that this project will make Model Colony a model wards in the true sense of the term.
“The idea is that no waste from our ward is sent to the landfill site and is processed at the local level. A lot of our residents segregate waste. But even those, who complain that the waste is ultimately mixed after collection, will change their mind when they see that only segregated waste is being used in the plant. The dry waste in our ward will be used by the waste-pickers,” Sardeshpande said.
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Concept wise this seems to lucrative but doesn’t looks like that environment studies done on the same. The plant now functional has brought bigger risk. Unutilized gas is being released in air spreads foul odor. Who knows if the gas is poisonous? How safe is the gas balloon? What if it explodes? There is no fire hydrant system installed. The generator shade is open, plant when in operation at night causes tremendous noise pollution to the nearby resident. You can see electrical wires lying on the grounds which are not armoud cables but flexible wires. Not sure if MPCB has cleared the site for garbage processing.