Disposal of municipal waste in an eco-friendly manner is essential for a sustainable future. Efforts are on for making electricity and manure from the waste generated in various cities. Be it Delhi or Mumbai, Hyderabad or Rewa, waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are being set up everywhere.

The WTE plants, which are a crucial component of modern waste management systems, play a critical role in addressing the challenges associated with waste disposal.

These WTE plants provide a sustainable solution by converting waste into useful energy and reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills.

Even a small city like Rewa in Madhya Pradesh is preparing to generate 12 MW of electricity from waste. This work is on the shoulders of the waste management company Re Sustainability Limited (ReSL).

ReSL, along with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, has shown such excellence in solid waste management in the last 12 years that the city has received three star rating for being a garbage free city in the Swachh Survekshan 2022.

Masood Mallick, CEO, Re Sustainability Limited (ReSL), said, “The garbage that reaches our stations never goes outside. That is, the garbage is made usable in some form or the other.” He informed that 6,000 tonnes of waste reaches their various transfer stations daily from different areas of Hyderabad.

Mallick said compost is made from dry waste in the disposal sites of ReSL and plastic bags are being made for hospitals by separating the plastic from the garbage. Also, the wet waste is fed into the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) plant to convert it into electricity.

The company has set a target of generating a total of 175 MW of electricity from waste in various cities. In this, 100 to 115 MW power will be generated from Hyderabad alone. The Jawaharnagar plant has started getting 24 MW power and an additional 24 MW is in advanced stage here. It is the first and largest waste-to-energy plant in South India.

In Delhi’s Bawana plant, 24 MW of electricity is being generated from waste. There is also a plan to generate additional 36 MW power from this plant.

Ramesh Bitra, Head-Corporate Communications, ReSL said the work of generating 6 MW power from waste in the first phase in Rewa is in the final stage.

The Rewa plant has an additional 6 MW power generation capacity. Similarly, 8 MW electricity will be generated from waste in Deonar, Mumbai.