Goa government will set up a construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling facility based on Irish technology with assistance from SINTEF Norway, minister for science and technology Michael Lobo announced on Tuesday.
The facility is likely to come up in North Goa while a waste to energy plant is proposed for South Goa.
Both plants will come up on the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Lobo said, while speaking to reporters in Norway. SINTEF will finalise the detailed project report within a month of deciding the site for the C&D waste plant.
Lobo said that establishing a C&D plant in Goa will help clear construction debris and help recycle stone aggregates and sand.
“Recycled aggregates and sand can be used for construction and those buying it will be given around 15% subsidy,” he said.
A state government delegation has visited Velde Industries at Stavengar to understand the working technology of a C&D treatment facility, and Fortum at Oslo to understand the technology that converts waste into energy.
At present, Goa generates around 500 tonne of C&D waste each day, which is unproductively disposed along the national highways, in low lying lands and abandoned quarries.
Lobo said the C&D plant can recycle and produce sand and aggregates, which could also be utilised for construction purposes and manufacturing of precast cement products such as pavers.
In light of the petition filed by a NGO in the high court challenging environmental clearance for sand extraction in Goa’s rivers and the state government not having issued any permits for sand extractions since the year 2018, the sand from the C&D plant will prove useful, sources said. Similarly, with limited stone quarries operating in Goa, the recycled aggregates can meet various construction demands, sources added.
As per the ministry of environment, forest and climate change notified Construction and Demotion (Waste Management) Rules, 2010, the state is expected to establish a C&D waste recycling plant. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed chief secretaries of every state to monitor and ensure compliance with all waste management rules, including C&D rules.
During the presentation, senior scientist from SINTEF, Christian Engelsen said that the C&D recycling process is in tune with the concepts of reuse and recycle and circular economy, which have been adopted by Norway and other Scandinavian countries.
The delegation also visited a waste to energy facility.
Currently, Goa collects about 55 tonne of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) per day of which 30 tonne from Saligao waste management plant and 25 tonne from village panchayats are baled at Verna and sent to cement plants for co-incineration.
Lobo said that the state is presently depends on neighbouring states for RDF co-incineration and that such a plant would help Goa become self-sufficient in treating RDF. The waste to energy plant will generate electricity and help in disposal of RDF retrieved from remediation of legacy dumps, he said.
