New Town set to get three waste processing and recycling plants
Times of India | 7 August 2024
Kolkata: Following the inclusion of New Town in the Centre’s ‘Cities 2.0’ programme along with 18 other cities across the country to develop integrated solid waste management system in which the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) is expected to receive about Rs 135 crore, the authorities have engaged IIT-Kgp to prepare a detailed project report on the same for implementation.
Each of the three Action Areas of New Town will have their own waste processing and recycling plants. “The DPR on how to develop an integrated solid waste management system is being prepared by IIT-Kgp experts. It will then be placed before the Centre for approval and implementation,” said a NKDA official.
Officials said New Town presently generates around 85 tonne of waste daily, but the amount will increase nearly three times as the neighbourhood area which is under the NKDA and HIDCO planning area has been included under the solid waste integration plan. For this, the present waste processing capacity needs to be scaled up.
Officials said the plan is to have a door-to-door collection system from households with waste collection points set up in the periphery neighbourhood areas. The waste from the collection points would be taken to the nearest waste processing and recycling plants, one each in the three Action Areas. “The idea is to have zero landfill dumping where no waste will reach the dumping ground. While wet or kitchen waste will be converted into compost, dry and solid waste will be processed at the material recovery facilities and a large amount would be recycled for further use,” said an official. Another component is to have electric vehicles for waste collection and carrying the waste to processing units.