With land being a scare resource and recycling centres few and far in between, many realtors, and even the transporters they hire, cut corners and illegally dump construction and demolition waste on vacant Government plots or near garbage dumps.

This is a scene most of us notice on a daily basis, but few have a remedy to tackle the menace.

Public sector construction company National Buildings Corporation Ltd (NBCC) is one of the builders that is sensitive to the problem and is making efforts to recycle such waste.

Complex and inert Construction waste typically consists of mostly inert and non-biodegradable material such as concrete, plaster, metal, wood, and plastic, and normally more modern building materials than demolition waste. Demolition waste is often contaminated with paint, adhesives and dirt.

Delhi’s only construction and demolition recycling plant, which recycles about 500 tonnes a day, is in Burari, about 20 km away from the city.

So, how did Anoop Kumar Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director NBCC, and his team overcome the logistical challenge along with the costs involved?

“When we started re-development of East Kidwai Nagar, it came to our attention that a huge amount of demolition waste was generated because 2,000 houses were knocked down. As per statutory norms and relevant industry practices, this waste needed to be transported to a legally designated waste recycling facility, which happens to be situated almost 30 km away from work site,” he said.

For its East Kidwai Nagar development project in New Delhi, NBCC has set up an on-site waste recycling plant that turns debris into usable bricks and kerb stones. Mittal said the recurring financial burden of having to pay Municipal Corporation huge fees for recycling made a fit case to have a recycling plant of their own. Now, NBCC can recycle around 150 tonnes a day, churning out almost 30,000 bricks/kerb stones.

The benefits are plenty, Mittal said. “The company saves on transportation and processing fees. Less waste ends up in landfills, increasing the material’s lifetime and reducing costs.” The company also saves on the cost of material, apart from a reduction of its dependency on primary materials.

“With this plant, the company expects to save ₹3 crore on transporting and recycling waste and another ₹6-7 crore as the recycled product will be around 30 per cent cheaper,” Mittal had said earlier.

The waste processing project is on a public-private-partnership model between NBCC and Enzyme Infra. While NBCC has provided land and demolishing waste to the agency, Enzyme installs, operates and maintains the plant. NBCC has also assured 100 per cent buyback of the processed waste.

This is a responsible beginning, but there still are many issues that plague the sector. Apart from lack of trained manpower, there are no elaborate guidelines on recycling and disposal, and also no specific bye-laws and statutory framework for setting up re-cycle plants at construction sites. Answers to these issues lie with the Government.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW