Kochi’s 'Waste to energy' project in a fix

Kochi: A major project proposal of converting plastic waste to fuel in order to improve the waste management infrastructure in Kochi city is stalled allegedly owing to the stubborn attitude of Kochi Corporation authorities.

Human Rights Defence Forum (HRDF) at Kochi, on the basis of information available through RTI, said that the proposal by Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) to set up a plant to convert plastic waste to energy was cold-shouldered by Kochi Corporation.

BPCL had given a proposal on January 2015 to the Kochi Mayor expressing their interest in looking into the possibility of setting up a plastic to waste project, and requested land premises of about three acres on long term lease at Brahmapuram. The project aimed at processing 10 tonnes of plastic waste per day from the municipal waste at an initial estimated cost of Rs. 20 crores. They also requested Corporation’s investment in project capital cost and team support.

The Project was later approved by the Corporation on terms that the Corporation would sign agreement when BPCL approves Rs. 25 crores as viability gap funding. KITCO, M/S GJ Nature care consortium and KSEB were supposed to be other stake holders in the project. The BPCL has agreed to pay Rs. 25 crores towards viability gap funding.

HRDF said that the proposal had been side-lined because of the Corporation’s adamant attitude to handle the project by themselves with no prior experience or expertise on petro chemical related management. According to at HRDF, experts in the field were of the opinion that the project would be successful if BPCL heads the team supported by the Corporation.

The Brahmapuram plant is today posing a great environmental hazard, reportedly polluting the Kadambrayar River and ground water in nearby areas and also making the place uninhabitable. The plant is now incapable of processing solid waste and is now dumped with non biodegradable waste including plastic and sanitary waste piling up with time.

The Rs. 350-core project was set up with great expectations of processing 500 tonnes of waste daily but is now not in a position to treat the waste dumped by the municipal bodies already permitted to use the facility. It is reported to have operational issues right from installation stages. Waste is being buried and burned out which puts the environment at risk.

Kochi generates more than 380 tonnes of waste a day of which 150 tonnes are biodegradable and 100 tonnes plastic and other wastes.  The Japanese delegation that visited Brahmapuram in 2014 had said that the existing facility was facing an “explosive situation”.

The unscientific waste disposal and treatment system that is currently adopted puts the entire city at risk of epidemic outbreak especially during monsoon.