BMC's recycling for plastic bid gets dry response

The dry waste from across the city is collected in minuscule amounts by NGOs and segregated in bits and parts. Representation picture

The civic body's push for recycling the city's plastic and dry waste has hit a roadblock. Despite getting responses from six companies for setting up three material recovery centres to collect, segregate and recycle dry waste, the BMC has received only one bid leaving the two other plants with no takers.

Currently, NGOs, roped in the BMC, collect the city's dry waste which is then taken to segregation centres where the waste is sorted. Civic officials from the Solid Waste Management department said that the NGO workers are not able to collect all the dry waste generated by the city. "Around 250 metric tonnes of plastic and dry waste is collected every day while the city produces around 800-1,000 metric tonnes of dry waste. Once we have contractors on board, we hope to increase the collection up to 500 metric tonnes," said Ashok Khaire, deputy municipal commissioner.

When the BMC had invited proposals for the project last month, it had received responses from six companies. After the bidding process on August 7 though, only a single bid was received. "We are planning to give the contract to the single bidder and will put up a fresh tender for the two other plants. We will take the commissioner's approval first," said Khaire. The plants are expected to come up on plots in the island city (Colaba), western (Malvani) and eastern suburbs (Deonar).

Instead of selling different types of plastic and dry waste to individual vendors, the BMC hopes that bringing in contractors will help process dry waste on a large scale. "It'll be a commercial model and an assembly plant will be created where the dry waste will be sorted and baled. The contractors that have shown an interest in the project have connections with other companies that manufacture cement and dry waste can be used as fuel," said another SWM official. He added that the tender mentions that regardless of the calorific value, the contractor appointed for the project will have to recycle all of the dry waste.

250mt
Quantity of plastic and dry waste collected every day from city

500mt
Quantity of dry waste collection BMC aims at in step one

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