A team of scientists from IIT Roorkee has collected samples of the refuse derived fuel (RDF) accumulated in the solid waste management and recycling plant in Sheeshambada. The team so far has collected two samples. The first sample was collected in the first week of December and the second on January 1, said the chief municipal health officer Dr Avinash Khanna.

There are at least five lakh metric tonnes of RDF accumulated in the waste management plant which has remained unprocessed in the past six years due to the failure of Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL) to dispose of it on time. The plant was meant to process the RDF and garbage for 15 years but was filled in the first four years by huge heaps of RDF and unprocessed garbage due to REEL’s failure. 

The REEL allegedly made poor quality RDF due to which, cement factories refused to buy them which was the main reason for its accumulation in the plant, as per the senior officials. Khanna said that the team of scientists will check the quality of RDF, its calorific value, the presence of inert material and heavy metals among other factors. All this information will help the corporation to determine the quality of RDF. The team will also tell MCD the exact quantity of RDF accumulated in the plant.

The corporation has also sent a proposal for the disposal of the RDF to the State government. “The scientists are expected to hand over their report to us within two weeks. We will look into their recommendations and suggestions to formulate a strategy to dispose of the RDF via scientific methods like bio-mining. The whole plan will be created with the help of experts and officials concerned,” he added.