Malad to get city’s second bio-medical waste treatment plant

Though the move may invite trouble for residents of Malad and the nearby Marve area,it will come as a partial respite to the residents of Deonar,Mankhurd and Chembur. While these residents have been protesting about levels of pollution in the area due to the proximity of the Deonar dumping ground,the city’s largest landfill site,they have intensified protests ever since the incinerator was installed on the dumping ground. 

After setting up the plant at Malad,five metric tonnes of biomedical waste from hospitals in the island city will be treated at Deonar everyday,and five metric tonnes of waste from suburban hospitals will be treated at Malad,thereby reducing Deonar’s burden by half.

However,Dr Sandip Rane of the Chembur-based Smoke Affected Residents Forum (SARF) said that incineration is considered an outdated technology in most parts of the world as it emits poisonous gases. He along with his wife Dr Neelam has been opposing the incinerator at Deonar. They had earlier also filed a petition in the Bombay High Court asking for the closure of the Deonar dumping ground.

Though the BMC wants to replace incinerators with gasification plants which is an environmental-friendly technology,the Central Pollution Control Board standards disallow the corporation from using it. A senior civic official said that the municipal bodies are bound to follow the rules set up by the CPCB about treatment of any solid waste.

“The standards set by CPCB are outdated because of which we can not implement this greener technology. We had a meeting with officials of MPCB,representative of the CPCB,seeking changes in the rules,” an official said.

Gasification,scientifically called plasma vitrification,involves burning solid waste at very high temperatures. Its benefits include minimal smoke emission and use of generated gases in creating energy. The ash residue is nearly five times lesser than that emitted from incinerators.

“Though this technology is 100 times more expensive than incineration,a city like Mumbai deserves it,” the official added. BMC officials are likely to hold another meeting with MPCB officials before November 10.