Independent legislator Geeta Jain (who has lent her support to the BJP) has mooted a proposal to implement Japan’s scientific methods of disposing solid waste in the twin-city.
Notably, Geeta Jain, was a member of the delegation from Maharashtra led by legislative assembly speaker-Rahul Narvekar, who were on a 10-day study tour to Japan.
“The Japanese model of garbage disposal holds valuable lessons for us which can be a key to efficient processing through meticulous sorting and automated mechanisms. I have requested the deputy chief minister to help set up a pilot project for the twin-city and their response was positive,” said Jain.
Importance of waste segregation
Throwing light on the process, Jain said that household garbage is segregated into categories like burnable, non-burnable and recyclable items. Burnable garbage is diverted to incineration plants where the trash is burned at very high temperatures. Exhaust gases from the combustion are cooled and treated before being released into the air to prevent any type of pollution.
While the ash that remains is utilised to make construction materials like cement and pavement blocks, the heat generated in the plants is used to generate electricity mainly for residential consumption.
₹3,000 crore project
Trash which cannot be incinerated is processed in separate plants having equipment like rotary crusher machines, that chop up waste into bits.
Metallic trash is segregated using magnets and converted into reusable blocks of specific metals.
However, the cost of the project is estimated at ₹3,000 crores. Moreover, unlike Japan which boasts of 100 per cent segregation at source, only 65 per cent thrash is segregated in the twin-city. On the other hand, Japan’s landfills conceal waste under the soil.
