Bhubaneswar: The process of removing the waste dumped at the temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School in Odisha capital has reportedly picked up momentum.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started sending segregated waste from the TTS in Gadakana area of the city to a cement factory in Rajgangpur in Sundargarh.
Sources said the civic body has been segregating a form of waste called RDF (refuse derived fuel), which mainly consists of discarded glass, wood, cotton, shoes, bags and polythene, and sending the same to the plant in Sundargarh.
RDF is a renewable energy source from which energy is produced to be used in industrial plants. The waste is shredded, dried, baled and then burned in a scientific manner to produce energy out of it. In this case, BMC is doing the shredding, drying and balling part.
The factory was contacted during Diwali when the BMC decided not to send the collected waste of the crackers to our waste processing facilities but to the factory. The shredding and drying part is being done at the TTS, TOI quoted BMC additional commissioner (sanitation) Suvendu Sahoo as saying.
The civic body has so far processed 45,000 tonnes of waste at the TTS. About 70 per cent of the RDF from the TTS has been sent to the Sundargarh factory. Since November 2, the BMC has sent 193 loads to Sundargarh, he said.
Sources said a move has also been made to ensure that the burden of the waste on the TTS is reduced. The growing burden of the waste at the TTS has become a cause of concern not only for the citizens but also for the civic body officials in recent time.
The residents complained that they have developed skin rashes, stomach ache and headache among other health issues due to the bad smell of the waste.
