Hyderabad to get 2 more plants to process C&D waste

Hyderabad: The State government is determined to protect the city environment from construction and demolition (C&D) debris pollution. With two facilities already constructed, there is a plan to construct two more facilities within the city to create a total processing capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day.

Further, six more C&D waste processing facilities are planned across the State via a cluster mechanism. This implies that there shall be one facility established for a group of urban local bodies. This was disclosed by Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) Arvind Kumar who participated in a virtual workshop on construction and demolition waste management on Thursday. The conference was hosted by Global Victoria, a unit of State Government of Victoria, Australia.

Arvind Kumar elaborated on the mechanism for citizen request for waste pickup which shall be developed as an on-demand service. He also stressed on the focus of Telangana government on sanitation with establishment of leachate treatment plants, faecal sludge and septage management plants and sewage treatment plants. He further invited international private sector participation in the upcoming facilities and emphasized on the need for innovative technology for waste management.

Other eminent guests at the virtual meet included Lokesh Kumar, the Commissioner of GHMC, Michelle Wade, the Commissioner to South Asia, State Government of Victoria, and Gillian Sparkes, the Commissioner for Environment Sustainability, Victoria. The workshop included participation from government, public sector, private sector and academia from both regions. Key discussion points included international collaboration for new technologies inC&D waste management, role of policy in shaping C&D waste private sector and enhanced usage, monitoring and quality control of recycled products.

Victoria state recycles 7.5 million tonnes of waste, of which 87 per cent of the C&D waste is processed into recycled products (aggregates, soil and sand, fill materials) while the rest of the 13 per cent is used for landfills. Victoria government started a concept of Ecologiq – recycle first, an initiative to maximise the use of recycled and reused material in major transport and infrastructure projects.

As of date, GHMC generates about 1,200 tonnes per day of C&D waste with two processing plants each with a capacity of 500 metric tonnes at Jeedimetla and Fathullaguda. For improving collection efficacy of C&D waste, GHMC is launching a dedicated app for collection of C&D waste from citizens, private contractors, bulk waste generators. Further GHMC launched a toll-free no 18001201159 for collection of C&D waste from source. Further, the focus is on enhancing monitoring mechanisms for bulk waste generators and developing permits for demolition.

Through international collaboration from the Victoria government, GHMC plans to get support for policy learnings and technology transfer and aims to enhance quality control and use of recycled products in road construction, increase private sector participation and develop recycled policies with requisite mandates for efficient C&D waste management.