Aafrin Kidwai 
Picture credit: by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay
The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) is planning to build a facility to convert non-recyclable waste, especially plastic, into fuel. With the state government paying a significant amount of money to bring refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to Karnataka, GWMC plans to build a facility on 50,000 square metres of land in Verna that can create steam or fuel for industries to utilise to power their manufacturing operations.
Every month, Goa produces roughly 3,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste, which is trucked to three or four cement companies in Karnataka for incineration.
GWMC and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute signed a pre-feasibility study agreement to build a waste-to-energy plant in Verna in 2020. Reportedly, no viable technology has been identified that can efficiently convert plastic into fuel.
The Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) signed an agreement with M K Aromatics Ltd in November 2014 to build a plastic waste-to-fuel plant in Pernem by 2015. GSUDA paid the firm Rs 8.3 crore, but the plant has yet to reliably produce high-grade gasoline.
The GWMC is in the process of identifying a suitable technology for the plant, according to The Times of India.
