Solid waste transportation stations to come up in five zones of NMC

NSSCDCL aims to redefine garbage management in city through turnkey projects for planning, designing, construction, erecting, testing and commissioning of mechanised modern facilities

Solid waste transport stations would come up in city as Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) aim to redefine the garbage management process in the city. Each of the ten zones of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) would have its station, to be spread across around 4,000 sq mtrs plot, around one acre. In first phase, however, only five zones are earmarked for establishment of solid waste transport stations, where garbage collected would be processed before its transportation to the Bhandewadi dumping yard.

Main aspect of the project is increased stress on environment protection through mechanised handling of garbage processing and transportation, stated Devendra Mahajan, General Manager, Environment, NSSCDCL. To a query he said these stations would be totally odour free, environment friendly and also we proposes to tap solar energy to maximum. Explaining the rationale Mahajan said it was imperative to eliminate manual intervention and hence the stations would be totally mechanised thereby taking care of contamination that in turn results in foul smell. As per the plan, we would also plant trees and have a small garden in the vicinity to maintain the stations chic and clean.

A ramp at station would ensure that small pick-up vans that collect garbage, wet and dry from door to door, would empty its contents in the hoppers. After that the garbage would be poured into compactor that would reduce its size and then it is ready for transportation through big containers to Bhandewadi. On arrival at stations, pick-up vans would be weighed and it would have separate chambers for handling wet and dry garbage and later its compaction process also would be done separately. The machines can compact 15 to 20 cubic metres garbage within 40 seconds.

So now instead of many vans clogging the streets, one big truck would carry maximum garbage in single trip, to Bhande-wadi. Also chance of spill over and leaking trucks will become history and one would not have to hold breath as stench is already eliminated during compacting process. Compacted garbage would also be transported in leak proof containers that would be uploaded through hydraulic process inside the stations. Once these stations, each would have capacity to process about 150 metric tonnes per day garbage, are commissioned then number of vehicles arriving at Bhandewadi would also come down. This in turn means faster collection and lifting of garbage from localities as small pick-up vans would have faster turn around time.

Now more trips can be run by pick-up vans thus eliminating delays in lifting garbage from dumped sites. Mahajan said this is where these stations would prove advantageous, as stench starts emanating when the garbage comes into contact with mud and soil and takes longer time to lift from its dumped place. But with speedier movement due to faster disposal and cutting down of distance for pick-up vans, the entire system of solid waste disposal would undergo a sea change. In long run the dream of neat and clean city too could be a reality and helps improve Nagpur's ranking at national level in cleanliness. Moreover ample time would be available for proper disposal of compacted waste at Bhandewadi yard due to lesser vehicular traffic, states the proposal of NSSCDCL.

After NSSCDCL constructs the stations it would be handed over two new garbage collection agencies appointed by NMC. The stations would be fitted with state of the art machines, wherein not only the garbage would be compressed, the wet element would be dried and water collected in a big tank. The water would be treated separately and ready for reuse. The area around stations would not give an indication of the dirty work going on inside and even in surroundings would have small garden and trees to enhance its beauty, added Mahajan.