India, one of the fastest developing country is struggling to balance its extraordinary growth with sustainable waste management. Waste, to most people, is just that unneeded junk that gets thrown to the curb. The advancement in technology has changed the appearance of the world in the last few decades. Technology has created many industries, producing the liquid and solid wastes that adversely affect the environment. Every year, improper disposal of garbage contributes to devastating epidemics of mosquito-borne malaria, dengue, yellow fever and other potentially fatal diseases. Sometimes deadly virus, spread by rodent urine or feces, have been linked to poor sanitation facilities.
With rapid urbanization, the country is facing a massive waste management challenge. Over 378 million urban people generate 60 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum. Only 43 million tonnes (MT) of the waste is collected, 11.8 MT is treated and 31 MT is dumped in landfill sites. Solid Waste Management (SWM) is one among the basic essential services provided by municipal authorities in the country to keep the urban city clean. However, almost all of them deposit solid waste at a dump yard within or outside the city haphazardly.
A Success Story of Biogas to Power Project Set up in Pune by the Maharashtra Government
Recently, Pune Govt. has taken a remarkable step in developing segregated municipal solid waste bio-methane projects those serves not only in generating power, but also help in the organizing and disposal of waste in the city.
It is a known fact that municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in Pune is among the highest in Indian cities with an average of 350-450 gms (with 40% organic matter) of waste generated per capita per day. What’s interesting is that the organic and biodegradable portion of the solid waste is 70 percent which is a significant consideration in the concept of solid waste management. The basic idea behind setting up a bio-methanation plant was to treat the organic waste in a decentralized manner, at its source, in the most environmentally efficient way. This helps the PMC save on transportation costs of such wastes to the landfill site which is 22 km away from the model colony area.
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