Landfill unit begins its operation

Landfill unit begins its operation
By Satish Shile, DH News Service, Bangalore:
After much protest from the public, landfill site for hazardous wastes developed by the State government in Dobbespet has started its operation.


Hyderabad based Ramky Environmental Management Pvt Ltd, the service provider at the site, has been collecting hazardous waste from industries, since June 19, this year. So far the service provider has collected 1,800 tonnes of hazardous waste.

The State government has fixed a price between Rs 1,600 and 2,300 per tonne of waste. Depending on the nature of the waste the service provider charges the companies. In addition it charges Rs 4 per km to transport waste from the industry to the landfill site.

KSPCB Assistant Environment officer Lakshmikanth H said the service provider has specially designed trucks to transport hazardous wastes and cannot be used for other purposes. “Collection of waste has begun. After certain chemical process the waste will be transported to the landfill,” he said.

Residents opposed

Residents of Dobbespet and its surrounding villages staged a violent protest on March 26 last year alleging that the unit would contaminate groundwater table.

The landfill site has been set up in an area of 93.18 acres acquired through the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board. While the 30 per cent of the total land acquired is used for systematic disposal of waste, the rest is designated as buffer zone, where the service provider has sunk eight borewells to test and check whether hazardous waste has contaminated the groundwater.

Enough for 20 years

The unit is sufficient for next 20 years. At present, the generation of landfill waste in the State is about 20,000 tonnes.

However, the design capacity of the unit is 40,000 tonnes per year. “Anticipating the growth of industrial sector in the coming year, the unit has been designed with a capacity, double the present generation of waste,” he said. KSPCB has decided to lift hazardous waste dumped illegally in an agriculture land, at Cheelaganahalli in Koratagere taluk, in Tumkur district.

Environment officer of the board D R Kumaraswamy said, as much as 290 tonnes of hazardous waste is found in the agriculture land.

The board has entrusted the job of lifting the waste and dumping the same at the landfill unit in Dobbespet, to the service provider.

Bangalore Chapter of Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers has been asked to conduct a detail study of waste dumped in the farm land. The board has spent Rs 15 lakh for the purpose, he said.

HIGHLIGHTS

Hazardous waste generating industries: 2,463
Hazardous waste generated: 20,000 tonnes per year
Landfill capacity at Dobbespet: 40,000 tonnes per year
Total capacity: 8 lakh tonnes (20 years)
Industries charged at Rs 1,600 - Rs 2,300 per tonne
Landfill wastes: Toxic, flammable, explosive, corrosive (eg: drug industry residues, ash, metal-bearing waste, sludge from effluent treatment plants)