BSWML floats tenders for four construction and demolition waste processing plants and end-to-end solutions in PPP mode in Bengaluru

According to a senior BSWML official, the city is generating roughly 4,500 tonnes of waste every day.

The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) has floated a tender for end-to-end Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste management plants under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. As part of this, four C&D waste processing units of 1000 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) capacity, will be set up in four corners of Bengaluru. 

According to a senior BSWML official, four companies have participated in the bidding after the tender was thrown open a few days back. The companies that bag the tenders will be carrying out collection, transportation and processing of C&D waste. According to a rough estimate, the city generates around 4,500 tonnes of C&D waste per day. 

The city already has two C&D waste processing plants, also established in PPP mode. However, people had to transport C&D waste to these plants themselves, which is a costly affair. In the absence of a strict regulatory framework compelling them to give the waste to these plants, they have failed to take off. 

To fix this gap, the new tenders will be end-to-end. The private agency that will put up processing plants in south, north, east and west areas in Bengaluru, will also be in charge of collection and transportation of C&D waste from construction sites in their respective zones to the nearest processing plant. The waste generators have to pay a tipping charge to the company for collection and transportation. The companies need to find their own land. BSWML will not provide any land. 

“The BSWML will only be fixing a per tonne tipping fee the waste generators need to pay the company for collection and transportation. The aim of fixing the price is to ensure that the company handling waste does not overcharge,” a senior civic official said.

An owner of a C&D waste management plant said, to make this model successful, the civic body should create a regulatory framework which compels C&D waste generators to pay up and give waste to companies that process them. For C&D waste generators, dumping the waste illegally is cheaper than coming into the formal processing system. 

He said the construction companies and builders should publish audits of C&D waste annually, or government agencies should make these entities strictly carry out audits. Unlike Delhi, where these rules are stringent, in Bengaluru there is no compelling reason for generators to pay up for processing.