Ghaziabad civic body to set up waste to energy conversion plant

"Although it will incur a transportation cost, the incineration plant, which will generate 15 MW power, would be a landmark achievement for this fast growing city on the Delhi border. Since the cost of land is too expensive in this border town, we had to opt for Pilkuwa," said Municipal Commissioner C.P. Singh.

"At present, we have started segregating solid waste in 8 wards. Soon we will initiate segregating waste in all the wards. It has been studied that with 100 metric tonnes of waste, 1 MW power can be generated. Our waste collection is at 1,300 metric tonnes which is expected to increase up to 1,500 metric tonnes. It means we will be able to generate 15 MW power and it's revenue will be a big financial source to this corporation," Singh added.

He said that installation of modern incinerators reduces the volume of the original waste by 95-96 per cent, depending upon composition and degree of recovery of materials. It also leads to electricity efficiencies of 14-28 per cent.

Incineration generally entails burning commercial or industrial waste to boiled water which powers steam generators that produce electric energy and heat to be used in homes, businesses, institutions and industries. Modern incineration plants are so clean that "many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration".

According to the German Environmental Ministry, "because of stringent regulations, waste incineration plants are no longer significant in terms of emissions of dioxins, dust, and heavy metals".

"After studying its importance through websites we have initiated the process to install incinerators at our dumping ground which will be very beneficial to all of us," the Municipal Commissioner said.