‘Bengaluru’s wet waste has potential to meet 20% of gas consumed by restaurants’

Bengaluru's wet waste could supply 20% of restaurant gas needs, as proposed by Carbon Masters' director during a recent inspection.

Wet waste generated daily in Bengaluru has the potential to produce about 200 tonnes of biogas, accounting for nearly 20% of the total gas consumed by restaurants in the city.

This idea was put forth by Som Narayan, co-founder and director of Carbon Masters, which operates a biomethanisation plant in Koramangala. He made the suggestion during an inspection of the facility by M. Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), on Saturday, pitching the idea of setting up more such units across the city.

Mr. Rao emphasised that the plan is ambitious and appears promising on paper, but implementation challenges will be inevitable. He directed officials to set up more biomethanisation centres in the city.

“A comprehensive study will be undertaken to produce biogas from wet waste in the city and to establish biogas plants in the GBA limits,” he said.

Bengaluru produces about 3,000 to 3,500 tonnes of wet waste every day, according to data from Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML). Mr. Narayan said that about 200 tonnes of biogas can be produced if the entire amount of wet waste is processed using the biomethanisation technique.

“Even if we assume Bengaluru needs 1,000 tonnes of gas every day, we have a great opportunity to produce 20% of the requirement. However, we have to develop such infrastructure,” Mr. Narayan told The Hindu.