Expo held on equipment for solid waste management

Bhubaneswar: As a first of its kind venture to bring in industry players and urban local bodies (ULBs) to one platform and to have a demonstration-based knowledge sharing experience on solid waste management equipment and machinery in Odisha, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) organised a day-long expo at SUDA campus on Sunday.

The innovative exposure session at the premises of State Urban Development Authority was aimed at to make all the urban local bodies (ULBs) aware on the methods of processing of wet and dry waste through Micro Composting Centres (MCCs) of 1 to 5 tons per day (TPD) capacity and Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) secretary G. Mathivathanan said, “The expo, being a first of its kind in State, has provided an interface for the ULBs and the manufacturers and it would help both ways. The national procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) should also be used by all the ULBs to procure the best suitable machines for them.”

Director Municipal Administration (DMA) Sangramjit Nayak said, “This is an opportunity for the ULBs to interact directly with the manufacturers of these equipment and to reduce the burden of municipal solid waste (MSW) by segregation at source and bio-mining. The expo would also help the ULBs in planning for better environment and greener urban space as the organic manure would be utilized for better growth of trees and plants.”

The DMA urged the participants to clarify their doubts in the question-answer sessions.

“The expo would provide knowledge on technical, financial and other management as well as user-friendly aspects of the equipment,” he hoped.   

BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said, “The expo was organized to bridge the gap between the ULBs and the manufacturers/suppliers as the smaller ULBs in the interior pockets of the State hardly get any exposure like this to select the suitable equipment for their requirements. Today as an interactive platform the manufacturers also answered the queries of the officials and representatives of various ULBs.”

The Expo included 21 organisations displaying organic waste shredders with conveyor belt, compost sieving machine, napkin incinerator, baling unit (for baling of plastic waste up to 20-25 kg bales), battery-operated vehicles (tricycle, four-wheeler-Low duty) to negotiate narrow lanes/streets for short-distance transportation and segregated of waste etc.