Under the EU India FWC on Solid Waste Management, one of the deliverables is the holding of 2 expert review meetings.
The 1st Experts Review Meeting was held on 11th June 2019 in New Delhi
The topic of the review meeting was New & Innovative Technologies & Mechanisms in Waste Management, its Roadblocks and Investment Potential of EU in India. This was attended by industry experts representing different specialisations in the solid waste management value chain. Mr. Sanjay Dhawan also participated.
The meeting was convened by the team leader Mr. Anil Bansal who gave a detailed presentation and put forward a thorough overview of the solid waste management sector in India, the achievements made and the challenges ahead. He further highlighted the issues endemic across the value chain of SWM: Collection & Transportation (C&T) as well as Processing & Disposal (P&D). Thereafter, the floor was open for discussions.
Major takeaways from the meeting were:
- EU funds can be provided in numerous ways. EU prefers to provide funds to a national/sub-national body. Cooperation with European SMEs can be one way of channelling investments.
- Development of QCI laboratory for compost testing, which can further be used for marketing of compost
- Standardisation of technologies and products from waste processing can make this field more lucrative
- Small scale waste processing and recycling solutions can be implemented at decentralised level
- The EU delegation would also be consulted with regards to technology transfer for both C&T, P&D as well as facilitation of entry of international consultants for project development on EPC basis
- Providing support in developing financial viabilities for SWM projects
2nd Experts Review Meeting was held on 27th June 2019 in Chennai
The 2nd review meeting had representations from the south of India. The meeting was convened by Mr. Sanjay Dhawan, AETS who welcomed all the participants and gave a brief outline of the Project and its intended objectives.
Major takeaways from the meeting are:
- AETS asked CNIM Martin to consider the viability of vertical WTE plants in India as it can effectively solve project siting/land issues.
- It was suggested that the project team should meet Scientific Advisor to the government of India Prof K. Vijay Raghavan to discuss technically and financially viable options for sustainable SWM in India and invite him for the National Workshop (July 2019).
- The EU delegation would be consulted with regards to technology transfer for both C& T as well as P&D as well as facilitation of entry of international consultants for project development on EPC basis.
- EUD shall also be urged to collaborate with the concerned ministries for creating advisories related to labour operations, EHS compliances and best practices.
- The EIB shall be consulted for assistance in achieving financial closure of Waste-to-Energy projects in India as well as the plausibility of relaxation of import tariffs for SWM equipment, machinery and vehicles.
- A knowledge sharing platform should be created for sharing of ideas and information between EU and Indian SWM developers and OEMs. One way of doing that is to collaborate with IFAT, India (annual conference) which is held in Mumbai.