The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has planned to convert dust collected from roads, using mechanical sweeping machines, into materials used for construction of buildings. To clean the major arterial roads in east Delhi, the EDMC has purchased four mechanical sweeping machines. These have the technology to suck in dust, which will then be released at the construction and demolition waste plant in Shastri Park and used for construction.
For the purpose, EDMC commissioner Ranbir Singh said the plant’s capacity will be increased from 500 metric tonnes to 1,000 metric tonnes. “Earlier, dust particles collected after cleaning roads would be released in the dhalaos. But when soil, sand and other dust particles get mixed with other waste particles, it reduces the efficiency of the waste-to-energy plant. Hence, it became important not to release the dust particles at the dhalaos,” Singh said, adding that now, the dust particles will be used to make marbles, bricks, soil, stones, etc.
The corporation also plans to install GPS devices and cameras on mechanical sweeping machines to record the condition of the roads before and after sweeping. “The GPS device will also help track the movement of the machine so that there is no dereliction of duty,” he said.
He added that these machines function in a way that the dust cleared from the roads does not get dispersed in the air — a problem that is rampant with manual sweeping. The mechanical sweeping machines will also sprinkle water on the roads. “The work will be done at night,” officials said.