Lucknow has become the first city in Uttar Pradesh to achieve 100 per cent scientific processing of municipal solid waste following the commissioning of the Shivari Solid Waste Management Plant, according to a release issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday.
The development places Lucknow in the category of a “zero fresh waste dump” city under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban. The newly commissioned Shivari plant has a processing capacity of 700 metric tonnes per day and is the third such facility in the city.
With the addition of the Shivari plant, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation now has a total waste processing capacity of over 2,100 metric tonnes per day, matching the city’s daily municipal solid waste generation. The city generates around 2,000 metric tonnes of waste daily.
Lucknow has a population of nearly 40 lakh residents and about 7.5 lakh establishments. Waste collected in the city is segregated into organic and inorganic fractions, with organic waste accounting for about 55 per cent and inorganic waste 45 per cent. Organic waste is processed into compost and biogas, while inorganic waste is recycled or converted into Refuse Derived Fuel for use in cement and paper industries.
Door-to-door waste collection efficiency in the city has increased to 96.53 per cent, while source segregation levels have crossed 70 per cent, the release stated.
The Municipal Corporation has also processed a substantial portion of legacy waste. Of approximately 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste identified in the city, around 12.86 lakh metric tonnes has been scientifically processed. As part of this process, about 2.27 lakh metric tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel has been supplied to industries across India for co-processing.
Inert materials recovered from legacy waste processing include 4.38 lakh metric tonnes of coarse fractions, 0.59 lakh metric tonnes of bio-soil, and 2.35 lakh metric tonnes of construction and demolition waste. These materials have been utilised for landfilling and infrastructure development in low-lying areas.
According to the release, over 25 acres of land has been reclaimed at the Shivari site as legacy waste processing progressed. The reclaimed area is now being developed into a fully functional waste treatment facility with infrastructure including windrow pads, internal roads, sheds, and dedicated weighbridges.
The Lucknow Municipal Corporation is also preparing to set up a waste-to-energy plant at the Shivari site. The proposed facility is planned to have a capacity of 15 megawatts and will use between 1,000 and 1,200 metric tonnes of Refuse Derived Fuel per day. The project is intended to reduce the need to transport RDF to cement plants located nearly 500 kilometres away.
