To reduce the burden of solid waste, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is going to expand its Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants in Bhandewadi soon. In this progressive move, NMC has partnered with SusBDe LOC Nagpur Pvt Ltd, for the task. A pilot-scale CBG plant being operated at Bhandewadi since 2024, working with the capacity of 100 tonnes per day is now nearly ready to scale-up. The plant converts organic waste into compressed biogas, thereby reducing daily generated solid waste while generating renewable energy. As per the information, the project will now feature three unit carrying 10 boxes each.

 

Each box measures 40 metre by 8 metre, meanwhile the height of the box is 6.5 metre. While the city generates approximately 1,381 metric tonnes of waste daily, this project will serve as a platform to generate biogas and compost from the fresh daily waste. The process of generating biogas and compost will be of nearly 21 days. Once the waste enters the box it will be stored inside where the bacteria will break it down into compost and the process of generating biogas will be done. Sharing the project plan, Shweta Banerjee, Superintending Engineer,

 

Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department said, “From June 2026, it will be expanded into a large-scale project with a capacity of more than 600 tonnes per day. The project will consist of three units carrying ten boxes each in which the organic waste will be processed simultaneously.” “For instance if we put around 500 tonnes of waste in a box, five per cent of which will be 25-30 tonnes will be processed into compost, and 30 tonnes of biogas will be generated,” said another senior official. “Daily fresh wet waste will be processed in the plant. Each box carries the total capacity of 600 tonnes per day. Out of 30 boxes, 23 boxes will be in use while the seven boxes will be kept as backup,” the officer added. However, the NMC believes that this project will not increase the ‘mountain of waste’ at Bhandewadi which has polluted the city’s air and groundwater for decades.