Aafrin Kidwai 
Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd is deploying customised Mercedes Benz trucks for waste collection as part of its ambitious secondary waste collection project for The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
“Gone are the days when citizens have to see filthy, open trucks carrying garbage on the roads. Fifty-five new Benz trucks, with a maximum capacity of 35 tonnes, have arrived in Hyderabad while another 100 are expected soon. These trucks, with closed containers, will transport waste from the SCTPs to processing centres in an efficient manner,” Ramky’s Joint Managing Director, Mr Masood Mallick informs SolidWasteIndia.
“We’ve used these trucks in some other projects too and had a very good experience. They are reliable and connected to our control centre – not only for navigation purposes, but also driver behaviour. For instance, if any driver is driving rashly or taking sharp turns, it will be reported immediately. Overall, in terms of efficiency, compliance and community safety, these trucks work well,” Mr Mallick says adding that the rest of the equipment, including hook loaders, compacters and containers, is being manufactured locally.
As per the GHMC’s strategy, swachh auto tippers, after collecting waste from the source will directly tip into a mechanised equipment which compresses the waste and stores it in the automated portable self-compactors (PSC). The PSCs minimise spillage on the ground, reduce odour, and leachate. They are designed for source segregation with separate collection provisions for wet and dry waste.
Picture Credit: Hyva
The compactor has a mechanised tray, which pushes the waste inside where it gets compressed. Thus, large volumes of waste can be compressed in the compactor-cum-container. Once this container fills up, a specialised truck mounts the PSC upon itself using a hook loader and takes it to the designated dump site.
According to Ramky, the SCTPs are being designed as neat, covered sheds with a small land footprint. They will help reduce the traveling distance and waiting time of Primary Collection vehicles significantly, thereby helping collection efficiency and enhanced earnings for the Primary fleet operators. “Direct transfer from the Primary MSW collection vehicles into PSC ensures that minimal manual handling is required. We are also getting positive feedback from the auto-tippers whose incomes have increased since they are making more rounds and travelling shorter distances,” says Mr Mallick.
At least 90 Secondary Collection and Transport Points (SCTPs) are being constructed across Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 1.3 crore each. A pilot project in LB Nagar has gotten off to a successful start and Ramky confirms its other SCTPs will be operational within the next few months.
“The SCTPs are designed in compliance with the Solid Waste Management guidelines (2016) to efficiently transport Municipal Solid Waste in closed containers. This is expected to drastically reduce the load on overburdened transfer stations currently in operation, while ensuring better waste segregation,” concludes Mr Mallick.
Picture Credit: Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.
