Panaji: Goa’s Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral on Friday said that the state government has decided to set up a construction and demolition waste recycling facility at Cunchelim, Mapusa.
He further said that the site for the plant has been identified and will be set up on government land which has been identified.
The minister said that the idea is to move away from using landfills as a solution to disposing construction debris. Instead, he said we should recycle the waste scientifically. Cabral said that the focus would be on technology and output of the plant. “Cement and laterite blocks have been manufactured through laterite stone powder by SINTEF, Norway and they are in the process of patenting it. Once patented, we will negotiate with them and take it under CSR.
Cabral, who is also the state’s PWD minister, said that he has given commitment to recycle 20 per cent of construction waste, adding that there will be two collection centres for construction and demolition waste – one in each district and people should drop their waste at the collection site so that authorities can take it to the facility from there
Cabral said that it was the responsibility of the Goa Waste Management Corporations (GWMC)’s responsibility to take care of the garbage including medical waste. Currently Goa produces nearly 500 tonnes of C&D waste each day, which is disposed of unproductively along the national highways, low lying lands and abandoned quarries which is creating environmental problems.
As per the environment ministry’s notified Construction and Demotion (Waste Management) Rules, 2010, the state is expected to establish a C&D waste recycling plant. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has also directed chief secretaries of all the states to monitor and ensure compliance with all waste management rules, including C&D rules.
