Kerala Cabinet announces tie-up with BPCL to install compressed biogas plant fuelled by urban waste in Kochi

Kochi's organic waste problem to be addressed by BPCL's ₹150-crore biogas plant. Plant to process 150 metric tonnes of waste daily, provide energy & nutrient-rich fertilizer. Kerala government to supply power and water at subsidised rate. Plant to be completed in 15 months.

A Kerala Cabinet meeting on November 22, 2023 sought to convert Kochi’s mounting organic waste problem into a civic advantage by engaging the public sector Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to construct an industrial-level compressed biogas plant that would turn tons of biodegradable refuse from households, hotels, marriage auditoriums and markets into valuable energy and nutrient-rich fertilizer sludge.

The plant would come up on 10 acres of Municipal Corporation land at Brahmapuram. The Kerala Government would hand over the public property to the BPCL.

The Cabinet pegged the proposed plant’s daily processing capacity at 150 metric tonnes. The BPCL would underwrite the entire cost of the ₹150-crore project.

The government would supply power and water to the plant at a subsidised rate. The BPCL would complete the scheme in 15 months. Kochi has a population of an estimated 7 lakh and nearly 1,61,000 dwellings.

The city has wrestled with the problem of scientifically disposing of rotting organic waste with mixed results.

Household and residential-level compost programmes have yet to effectively help the city manage its organic waste problem.

Rotting waste dumped at public places and drains has proved to be a health and environmental hazard.