Bringing waste to life

The concept of rubbish may not have changed, but what happens to your waste once you have disposed of it has changed radically in recent years. With initiatives like Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India and Skill India gaining momentum in the country, start-ups focusing on clean energy and optimum use of available resources have also gained momentum.

One such initiative is by Abhishek Gupta who runs Clean India Ventures. The company has introduced ‘Decentralised Green Waste Reprocessor’ (GWR) machines that helps in up-cycling all green reject and converts it into valuable byproducts that can be used for various purposes.

Talking about the project, Abhishek points out, “You would be surprised to note that more than 65 million tonnes of waste is generated by 350 million people every year. 90 per cent of this waste goes to landfills that have huge implications such as contaminated air, water in its surroundings, higher likelihood of epidemic and unhygienic surroundings. It is equally surprising to note that 60 per cent of the waste generated is green/organic in nature, and can be reprocessed before it becomes waste. With the help of our Green Waste Reprocessor, we reprocess all green reject and convert it into valuable byproducts.”

He continues, “The idea is to setup small waste management plants in localities, parks, gardens which can reprocess approximately 500 kilograms to even three tonnes of organic waste per day and make them more accessible to the public. Currently, composting is happening in centralised plants or in homes at an individual level. But, this is the first time that we are seeing that small plants are being manufactured. This waste is then reprocessed either into high-quality compost or organic fertiliser used for farming or it can be used as biofuel for cooking. The concept is not only new to Delhi but to India as well.”

The emphasis is on producing clean energy from waste, shares Abhishek. “There are three models of Green Waste Reprocessor machines which process garden waste, vegetable waste and flower waste. The process follows collection of waste from homes and neighbourhood that are mostly organic in nature (non-biodegradable waste including plastics makes up to 5-10 per cent) and dumping at the processing machine area. After dumping, shredding is done and whatever is left is put by workers at a potent combination of temperature and moisture which reprocesses granules into biomass.”

In India very little effort is made to reclaim the valuable nutrient or energy content generated by waste management, he explains and adds, “A city like Delhi generates at least 4,000 tonnes of organic waste on a daily basis which means that 4,000 of our machines can be put in Delhi. What will happen is that atleast 65-70 per cent of the waste will not go to the landfills.”

Currently, their machines are installed in Central Delhi, Talkatora Garden, RK Puram and Buddha Park, showing satisfactory results. They are also planning to venture out to other parts of the country. They have successfully installed a plant at Mamun Military Station, Pathankot. Abhishek says, “We are not only looking at selling the machines to corporations but want to handle the entire process or end-to-end management of the process. We are confident that this can be a game-changer in India’s environment policy.”