MITHAPUR (Gujarat): Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) inaugurated a dry waste processing plant at Mithapur on Wednesday, an initiative launched under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign.
Dr Narender Kumar Meena (I.A.S.), Collector & District Magistrate, Devbhumi Dwarka graced the inauguration event with his presence and was accompanied by Ashok Dani, Head – Projects & Technical Services, Tata Chemicals Ltd. and D B Shukla, DGM, HR & Admin at Tata Chemicals, Mithapur and TCSRD team.
The Dry Waste Management Plant will process three types of plastic wastes: industrial, municipal and scrap. Part of the processed product will be supplied to the local cement plant, which will use them as fuel, supporting the circular economy concept.
TCSRD has always taken proactive steps to drive waste management initiatives including collection, segregation and safe disposal of plastic waste as per Extended Producer’s responsibility norms.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of Dry Waste Processing Plant at Mithapur. This dry waste management plant is a part of TCSRD’s plastic waste management (PWM) programme that has been undertaken to make communities sustainable. On the sustainability front, our objective has always been to go beyond compliance requirements,” said Alka Talwar, Chief of CSR and Sustainability at Tata Chemicals.
“While this Unit in Mithapur will help in recycling the plastic waste to a good extent, it is also important to note that protecting the region’s coastal zone by not dumping plastic wastes in the sea is the duty of every citizen. We are happy to associate with Sampurnearth Environment Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a social enterprise working towards breaking the non-cyclic process of waste management and our implementation partner for the Mithapur waste management unit. TCSRD is also thankful to the local municipalities including Okha and Dwarka, for offering their support to this project,” Talwar added.
To create a sustainable entrepreneurship model, TCSRD reached out to local people engaged in waste collection and has supported them in the incorporation of Self Help Groups (SHG). Currently, the plant is processing about 1 tonne of plastic waste per day. The plan is to increase processing capacity up to three tonnes per day in future. So far, the plant has also created employment opportunity for 16 people, including 9 women.
Before the setting-up of this dry waste unit, TCSRD carried out the ‘Clean & Plastic Free City’ campaign in Dwarka for six-months in order to raise plastic waste awareness programme among the local community and in the process also mapped waste congregated in Okha, Mithapur and Dwarka.
