If all goes as planned, Bengaluru will get what civic officials describe as a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy plant in one year. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), on Thursday, signed a concession agreement with a French environmental technology company that is providing the plant.
The BBMP had signed a memorandum of understanding with the company last year. The waste-to-energy plant is expected to come up at Chikkanagamangala, near Anekal, on the outskirts of the city.
According to highly placed sources, as per the agreement, the BBMP is required to send 300 tonnes of waste every day to the plant. The waste will be segregated by machines, following which it will be converted into energy. The plant is expected to generate around 7MW of power, which will be added to the grid.
“The company has patented waste management technology that has been tested in France to segregate mixed waste in six to seven levels. A technical feasibility study has already been done to see if the technology can be used given the local conditions (composition of garbage), apart from looking into the environment and social impact,” sources added.
BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad told The Hindu that with the signing of the agreement, the company (3Wayste Sas) is expected to get the requisite approvals in 60 days. Within seven months, the company will have to commission the sorting plant, and the waste-to-energy plant within a year.
Waste management experts, however, point out that though the BBMP has stressed on the importance of segregation of waste at source, it has signed an agreement for mixed waste.
Mr. Prasad ruled out the possibility of the agreement sending mixed signals to citizens. The BBMP's other processing facilities will continue to accept only segregated waste. “If we send segregated waste, the operational cost in terms of energy used will reduce. This will eventually benefit us,” he added.