MCG picks 5 pvt agencies to help bulk generators segregate, compost waste

Gurgaon: To make Gurgaon a clean city ahead of Swachh Survekshan 2019, MCG has shortlisted five agencies that will help those who generate waste in bulk to segregate and compost it at the community level. The corporation plans to carry out a trial for one month before officially hiring these agencies.
The agencies will help resident welfare associations and other bulk generators like hotels, schools and other institutions, devise a mechanism for segregation at source, and composting at the community levels. During the one-month period beginning in January, MCG officials will assess the composting units set up by the agencies.

“We will be assessing the machinery in terms of electricity consumed in proportion to the waste processed and the quality of compost produced, against set standards,” said an MCG official. Additionally, officials will also monitor calorific value of the output products other than compost, and if they can be sent to the landfill to be used in the waste-to-energy plant.

The one-month project will be carried out in Sector 45, Sector 15 Part 2, community centre and Huda park in Sector 56, and Chakkarpur, Chauma and Nathupur villages. The agencies shortlisted for the project are Smart Enviro Private Limited, Clean India Ventures Private Limited, Waste Management Corporation, SMS Hydrotech, and Excel Industries Limited.

According to MCG officials, around 25 residential societies across the city segregate and compost garbage at the community level. “If we take into consideration all residential societies in the city, just 25 of them composting waste at the community level is a low number,” an MCG official said. While residents have shown enthusiasm for community composting, adoption of the practice slowed down after the government appointed Ecogreen Energy Private Limited for solid waste management and withdrew financial support to RWAs for setting up composting units.

In September, the NGT imposed a penalty of Rs 2.5 lakh on Ecogreen for not following its direction and carrying out proper waste segregation and treatment at Bandhwari. Three months later, MCG imposed a penalty of Rs 6.38 crore on the firm for non-performance.

While MCG is still not providing any financial support to societies for setting up community-level composting plants, they have decided to guide bulk garbage generators through these agencies. “To encourage bulk generators to adopt segregation at source and composting as good practices, the corporation will buy the compost at Rs 5 per kg,” an official said.

Environmentalists and green activists, who have been pushing for decentralised waste segregation and treatment rather than sending the waste to the Bandhwari waste treatment plant, are expected to welcome the move.