BMC markets, gardens may soon have biogas plants, composting pits

The small-capacity bio-methanation plants which the BMC is contemplating setting up in all municipal markets in the city, will give an impetus to the civic body's zero garbage initiative, which entails reducing amount of waste going to the dumping grounds every day. It's also planning to set up mini composting systems in all its gardens.

Mumbai currently has 92 municipal markets and over 1000 BMC-owned gardens.

Additional municipal commissioner Vikas Kharge, who is in charge of BMC's solid waste management department, said the initiatives would ensure that minimum waste went to the exhausted dumping grounds.
"Municipal markets mostly generate wet waste. So we are planning to set up biogas plants in the market premises depending on the space available. The wet waste that markets generate can be converted into gas in hours," Kharge said, adding that the idea was only at a preliminary stage at the moment.

He also said setting up composting pits in gardens would help compost leaves and other materials that get accumulated there. "It will also encourage nearby housing societies to start composting in their societies or use the composting pit in these gardens," Kharge said.

"Only things that can't be composted or recycled would then go to dumping grounds," he said.

Recently Kharge had said BMC was planning to increase the number of waste collection vehicles and dry waste collection centres, which are currently managed by NGOs. The civic body currently has 46 vehicles (two allocated per ward for dry waste collection) and 36 dry waste centres.

He had also said he would bring the house in order first before penalising housing societies and commercial establishments.

The slew of steps comes after activist and corporators had alleged that the segregated waste collected by the civic body was eventually mixed at the dumping grounds.

Mumbai, as of now, generates 10,000 metric tonne of waste, of which 2,500 metric tonne is construction debris. The waste is disposed in Deonar and Mulund dumping grounds, both of which have been due for closure since more than five years.

With BARC assistance
In 2003, the civic body set up two biogas plants on a pilot basis, at Deonar Abattoir and Shatabdi hospital in Govandi, with the help of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). However, after the 4-metric-tonne plant at Deonar Abbatoir became dysfunctional, BMC had mooted replacing it with a 20-metric-tonne biogas plant by the
year end with BARC's assistance.

What's biomethanation?
Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted into biogas under anaerobic conditions.