| The company has already managed to bag a few projects and is confident of reaching a turnover of Rs 500 crore over the next three years as it monetises the waste through composting and biomethanisation, among other things, chief executive officer Suresh Rege tells Vandana Gombar in an interview. Excerpts: |
| What is the size of the waste management market in the country? |
| It could be billions of dollars. Waste is not waste, it is a resource, and there is a huge amount being generated. For instance, Mumbai generates 6,500 tonnes (of waste) per day (tpd). |
| All this waste needs to be collected, segregated, processed, treated, and then finally disposed. In most cities so far, waste (organic, inorganic, biomedical, etc) is just dumped in a low-lying area. |
| Waste management is one of the sectors for which the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is providing funds. Are there lots of bids being invited? |
| There is a proposal or a call for Expression of Interest by some city or the other every 15 days. Nagpur, which generates 700 tpd, is coming up. Then there is Madurai, Indore, Jaipur and many others. |
| What are the strengths you bring to the table? |
| IL&FS was already providing consultancy for funding these projects. We had the expertise and we decided to get into the execution of projects too through this company. |
| The first project we worked on was a non-functional compost plant in Jalandhar. We took over operation and maintenance of the plant to make organic manure. We are also working on the renovation and modernisation of the Okhla compost plant in Delhi. |
| Aren't there too many buyers for compost? |
| Organic fertiliser is in demand everywhere. We are even thinking of branding our compost. |
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