Blue Planet announces investment in one of India’s largest landfill mining company

Waste management company Blue Planet Environmental Solutions Pvt Ltd. has announced a significant investment in Zigma Global Environ Solutions Pvt Ltd (Zigma), one of India’s largest landfill mining companies.

Zigma specializes in landfill mining and full reclamation of land which is contaminated with legacy waste and suffers from environmental pollution and degradation. Founded in Erode, Kerala in 2015, the company provides a sustainable solution involving multi-step segregation, treatment and recycling to clear landfills of deposited refuse.

In a press release, Mr Nagesh Prabhu, Director of Zigma, says, “In India, there are about 23,000 open dumpsites which emit harmful gasses and put public health at risk. We saw the immediate need to develop a solution to clear legacy dumps, avoid continuous contamination of groundwater and air and remediate land for regional development.”

Zigma has completed multiple landfill mining projects in various states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and others and is currently undertaking 16 projects in various parts of the country. “Previously landfill capping was the only solution that existed but we saw potential in landfill mining to be a successful socio-economic business model and developed the required tools and systems, necessary for enhanced scalability and sustainability,” added Prabhu. 

Zigma’s process involves landfill mining, which starts with waste composition analysis and pre- stabilisation processes including deodorisation and leachate drainage from open dumpsites. The company leverages online monitoring system with real-time data processing, which is made available to all project owners to ensure high quality of operations. 

With Blue Planet’s strategic investment in Zigma, waste processing can be augmented using Blue Planet technologies to extract and upcycle useable materials and resources. This includes technologies to convert inert waste into concrete blocks, plastic waste to fuel conversion, and decentralised organic waste to energy solutions – where Blue Planet has one of the largest installed bases in India.

 “As we expand and look at opportunities in ASEAN and the Middle East market, our partnership with Blue Planet takes us a step closer towards the overall vision of creating a cleaner world. We will do this by combining best practises in waste management with advanced technologies from around the world,” said Ilangovan, CEO at Zigma.

Prashant Singh, co-founder/CEO of Blue Planet adds, “With Blue Planet’s experience in handling waste projects in Asia, we aim to help Zigma in expanding its footprint in the waste management sector around the region, and contribute to sustainable economies around Asia.”

Blue Planet recently announced a strategic investment of US$25 million made by Nomura, to further efforts to develop an integrated and inclusive waste management solutions for the region.

Since October 2018, Blue Planet, which is based in Singapore, has completed a string of acquisitions which includes Rudra Environmental Solutions (India), Yasasu Environmental Management Services (India), Xeon Waste Managers LLP (India), Globecycle Holding Sdn Bhd (Malaysia), Virtus Concrete Solutions Ltd (UK) and Smart Creative Technologies Ltd (UK). Blue Planet is a Singapore headquartered company driving regional sustainability through technology- driven and IP based end-to-end solutions for waste management and upcycling.

Picture Credit: Minghong, South East New Territories Landfill 2, CC BY-SA 4.0