Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has identified multiple locations across the city for decentralised solid waste management facilities, including plants for producing biogas and biofuels from organic waste, as it seeks to reduce the growing pressure on the Moshi waste depot, Pune Pulse reported.
The civic body has conducted preliminary inspections of several reserved municipal plots and identified sites that could accommodate modern waste processing facilities. The proposed infrastructure will use technology-based systems for waste collection, transportation, segregation and processing.
Depending on the size and suitability of individual sites, the projects could include Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), waste-to-energy units, biogas and biofuel plants based on organic waste, and facilities to convert plastic waste into useful products.
PCMC Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi said decentralisation was being prioritised to strengthen the city’s solid waste management network.
“Along with reducing the burden on the Moshi depot, the plan aims to make waste collection, transportation, segregation and processing more efficient,” Suryawanshi said.
He added that the proposed locations would undergo technical scrutiny before finalisation. The final selection would be made with the consent of the Mayor, elected representatives, office-bearers and corporators, while the projects would be developed with a focus on environmental protection and minimum inconvenience to residents.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Vikrant Bagade said the nature of the facility at each location would depend on the available area and technical suitability.
The plans include advanced odour-free transfer stations, MRFs, biogas and biofuel production facilities and units to manufacture useful products from plastic waste, he said. Technical and feasibility studies of the proposed sites are currently underway.
The decentralised model is expected to reduce the distance waste needs to be transported to Moshi and enable more localised segregation and scientific processing.
The proposed network of facilities could also create opportunities for converting organic municipal waste into biogas and biofuel, while recovering recyclable material and reducing the quantity of waste ultimately sent to disposal facilities.
Final locations and the specific technology to be deployed at each site will be determined after completion of technical and feasibility assessments and receipt
