Efforts on to convert waste into energy.

The Tiruchi Corporation has called for Expression of Interest (EoI) to set up a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) plant to convert waste into energy from accumulated solid waste at its Ariyamangalam garbage dump. Tuesday was the last date for submission of EoI bids.

Though the exact details and methods preferred by the companies that have submitted papers for the project are expected to be known shortly, it is said that two bidders involved in production of energy from waste have come forward to execute the project.

A high-level committee of the Corporation will scrutinise and evaluate the profile of companies, financial viability, technical expertise, methodology, sustainability, experience and other conditions to award the contract. The process is expected to take at least two to three weeks. The project is likely to be executed on Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) basis.

Under the proposal, the selected company will install plant and machinery to produce fuel from the solid waste. It will employ men and machineries to execute the project for 20 years. It should process at least 600 tonnes of waste daily. Of this, 300 tonnes should be the accumulated waste at the yard. “Our aim is to clear the entire waste dumped in the yard as quickly as possible without any financial commitment from our side. We will see tangible result within four to five years,” N. Ravichandran, Commissioner-cum-Special Officer, Tiruchi Corporation, told The Hindu recently.

He said that according to an estimate, the Ariyamangalam dump yard had about 8 lakh tonnes of waste dumped on 45 acres of land. The Corporation was adding about 450 tonnes of waste generated from different parts of the city daily. The company would have to process both new and old waste simultaneously thereby reducing the volume of old waste gradually. The selected company would be allowed to use about 5 acres of land to process the waste.

Mr. Ravichandran said that it was an important step to prevent further accumulation of waste at Ariyamangalam. It would improve the living condition of people in Ariyamangalam and nearby areas.

THE HINDU