KMC to set up 2 new material recovery facilities at Dhapa and Pathuriaghata

In a bid to ensure better solid waste management (SWM) in the city, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is working to set up two new material recovery facilities, an organic waste compactor, and a polystyrene (thermocol) recycling plant.

The civic body has in recent years laid emphasis on recycling construction and demolition waste which are otherwise being allegedly used to fill up water bodies for real estate purposes. Mayor Firhad Hakim has given strict orders to ensure construction or demolition wastes are picked up by KMC vehicles and taken to its material recovery facility plant at Pathuriaghata. To enforce the rule, the Mayor has also asked the Kolkata Police to keep strict vigil at Majerhat Bridge which, according to him, is being used by multiple goods vehicles loaded with construction wastes to enter South Kolkata. These trucks then allegedly unload such wastes in water bodies to pave the way for illegal constructions. Kolkata Police’s Lalbazar headquarters have instructed all the traffic guards to take action against trucks carrying construction waste in the city without the civic body’s permission.

Now, the civic body is planning to set up two more material recovery facilities, one 300 tonnes per day (TPD) facility at Pathuriaghata and another 100 TPD facility at Dhapa for recycling and reuse of dry waste. For wet waste, KMC has installed six decentralised organic waste compactors in different wards in the city so far but it plans to set up one more such compactor with 1000 kg per day capacity. Further, it has also started a process to install a polystyrene recycling facility of the same capacity while issuing work orders for two fecal sludge treatment plants which is expected to be completed shortly.

According to the civic body, the SWM department has generated revenue from compost plant and Bio-CNG from Dhapa, compactor stations, construction and demolition waste processing and SWM user charges amounting to a total of approximately Rs 30 crore. In the 2024-25 Budget, a total of Rs 720.85 crore approximately (including Motor Vehicles) has been allocated to the SWM department, which is the highest among allocations made under other heads.