The Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management Rules 2016, is a wakeup call for different levels of government officials in India to make a proper C&D waste management and utilisation plan. Capacities need to be developed at the ULB level to implement management solutions which are city specific.

Although most governing bodies are yet to take any substantial action in C&D waste management, a handful of ULBs in India have already implemented viable models of C&D waste processing. With Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) being the pioneers in India, few other ULBs including Coimbatore, Chennai, Tirupati, Jabalpur etc has also initiated the process of establishing C&D waste units.

The Ahmedabad case study is a fine example of a viable model of C&D waste management since it covers the technology and policy aspects for running a comprehensive while profitable business utilising C&D debris as a resource rather than managing it as a waste. Few of the most critical aspects included in the business model that makes it sustainable are as follows:

Multi-Stakeholder Involvement

The 1000 tonnes per day C&D waste processing facility in Ahmedabad is operated and maintained by Ahmedabad Enviro Projects Private Limited (AEP Pvt Ltd) which is a Public Private Partnership consortium formed by the 'Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation' as the government partner and 'DNP Infrastructure' as the private partner. The PPP model of operation ensures that the operations of the company are beneficial for the society and allows the ULB to keep a close check on the operations of the contractor. The PPP model also ensures that the ULB shares responsibility of facilitating a proper management system.

Cradle to Grave Management Approach

The management in Ahmedabad comprises an end to end approach where collection from the generators site to the disposal of rejects/inerts after processing have been considered. The business model ensures that the waste is collected from the demolition site by providing multiple collection system options to the demolition contractors. For example the contractor himself can deposit the waste at a collection compound listed down by the ULB. There are more than 16 collection points geographically distributed all around the city. The contractor can also contact Ahmedabad Enviro Projects Private Limited for collecting the waste from his site on payment. The waste is processed and made into building materials and the rejects are sent back to the municipality's sanitary landfill. This ensures the waste is completely handled from the point of generation to its final disposal.

Comprehensive Technology

Comprehensive technology customised to process the local waste and customised for the local market demand is an important component of waste processing. A feasibility analysis was conducted in Ahmedabad to understand the market demand. A need for substitutes for construction aggregates was understood considering the fact of high cost due to the distance of sourcing materials from faraway quarries, hence secondary aggregates were manufactured from C&D waste in Ahmedabad to substitute the virgin aggregates in the market at a lower cost and comparable quality. The processed aggregates are utilised to manufacture a variety of products including paver blocks, kerbstones etc that have huge demand in the market. In cities where aggregates are easily available, it has been studied that similar technologies do not have a market demand and hence alternate solutions need to be developed.

Quality Assurance

The secondary building materials developed from C&D waste need to be assured of their quality in order to gain acceptance of the public. For this purpose, quality certification needs to be ensured. The products made from AEP are tested in the internal laboratory as well as certified under the 'Get It Green Logo' by ICMQ. Selected products are also listed under the Griha catalog.

Market Assurance

Market assurance for the private partner is provided by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation by ensuring that minimal 50% of the project activities by the urban local body, will utilise the products manufactured by Ahmedabad Enviro Projects Private Limited. The clause is laid down in the initial agreement in order to attract investors to invest in the C&D waste processing business. ■

Achu R Sekhar
asekhar@devalt.org