In Uttarakhand, the towns of Rudrapur and Mussoorie are tackling waste management challenges innovatively by generating electricity and producing organic fertilizer from garbage, according to local officials.
As urban populations grow, the waste generated in cities is increasing, putting a strain on municipal bodies responsible for waste disposal, cleanliness, and managing environmental pollution. Rudrapur, with 40 wards, produces around 105 to 118 metric tonnes of waste every day. To address this, the Rudrapur Municipal Corporation launched a "Waste-to-Energy" plant in November 2022 under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. This plant currently processes 30 tonnes of waste daily, generating six kilowatts of electricity and organic fertilizer named "Kalyani" from the collected garbage. While the plant can handle up to 50 tonnes of waste per day, it has so far been operating at a 30-tonne capacity.
Mussoorie, a popular tourist destination, also took steps to manage waste sustainably by opening a similar waste-to-energy plant in May 2024. The Mussoorie plant, also established through a PPP model, has a daily processing capacity of eight tonnes. Besides electricity, it produces biogas and organic fertilizer, helping the town manage its garbage scientifically while benefiting the environment.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed satisfaction with these projects, emphasizing that they align with the government’s goal to balance environmental sustainability with economic growth. He highlighted the “Waste-to-Energy” program as a step toward achieving this balance, enabling towns like Rudrapur and Mussoorie to turn waste into valuable resources like electricity and fertilizer.
These waste-to-energy initiatives mark a significant shift in how municipal bodies handle waste, especially in tourist-heavy areas like Mussoorie, where waste management is particularly challenging. By producing electricity and organic fertilizers from garbage, these towns are reducing their environmental impact, helping manage waste more effectively, and contributing to local energy needs in an eco-friendly way.
These waste-to-energy projects in Rudrapur and Mussoorie are setting a positive example for other towns and cities to follow. By converting garbage into useful resources like electricity and organic fertilizer, they’re showing how waste can be managed in an eco-friendly way that benefits both people and the environment. Not only are these towns tackling the problem of increasing waste, but they’re also creating new opportunities for sustainable energy and reducing pollution.
(This story has been slightly reworked from an auto-generated PTI feed.)
