Team News Riveting
Raipur, August 12
Industries, globally, are reviewing waste management processes due to the growing ecological concerns.
The industrial waste producers must either handle the waste independently or contact certified industrial treatment firms to dispose-off. However, many lack the necessary expertise, workforce, financial resources, technology, equipment, and a forward-thinking approach to industrial waste management. In addition, most companies must protect society’s sustainable and environmental values that impact their brand value; the circular economy concept has been gaining traction as a potential means of achieving
sustainable development.
The circular economy is a sustainable resolution to garbage and resource exhaustion, where the materials are Reduced, Recycled, and Reused. In contrast to the well-recognized method, the circular economy notion is characterized by the possibility that one’s waste could be another’s raw material. Wastewater treatment facilities are the most illustrative example.
Typically, what is discarded from our homes is converted into fertilizer, electricity, and water for agriculture and other uses. Moreover, many valuable minerals and materials are gathered, lowering the need for new raw materials and the financial and environmental costs associated with reuse, recycle and reprocess the same. In addition to creating valuable supply chains for these materials and boosting their associated profits, recycled and recovered materials can be re-engineered to reduce requirement of natural resources like energy and water for repurposing.
Lara super thermal power station is one of the most efficient stations from fleet NTPC Ltd, recognised this concern and demonstrated a solution for industrial waste management very innovatively with community involvement. NTPC Lara was established in the village Pussorre, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India, where the bag filters are recycled into environmentally friendly goods, demonstrating the realistic application of the circular economic model. This initiative reports waste management concerns while supporting community liberation and industrial sustainability.
Being part of the NTPC Limited conglomerate, NTPC Lara adds to the country’s energy sector by aiming at increasing electricity demand. Like several thermal power plants, it generates waste, including bag filters, which are elements of dust collection arrangement that diminish air pollution. Bag filters in Lara station’s ash handling system curtail air pollution while transporting dry fly ash from the Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) hopper to buffer hoppers and ash silos. Usually, waste from buffer hoppers and ash silos requires high-energy incineration or storage. NTPC Lara utilizes these bag filters to avoid air pollution from the silos and buffer hoppers.
Presently, State of Chhattisgarh is not having an operation Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) Facility for disposal of used bag filters in an environment friendly manner. To manage this waste efficiently and environmentally responsible way, NTPC Lara has adopted a circular economy approach instead of disposing-off these filters, which can take years to decompose in landfills. NTPC Lara’s used bag filters were initially stored at a well-engineered waste storage yard, when they reached the end of their functional lives.
Over the past two years, these old filters have been repurposed into carry bags. NTPC Lara collaborates with Chhaya Mahila Self Help Group (SHG) in Chhapora village, where training for members of SHG was organised by Corporate Social Responsibility NTPC Lara to improvise their skills in sewing and repurposing these discarded filter bags. Heavy-duty sewing machines were provided to Chhaya Mahila SHG in Chhapora village by NTPC Lara which are suitable for stitching of bag filter cloth and to convert used filter cloth into carry bags. Members of this SHG do unstitching, dry cleaning and washing of these used bag filters. They cut the recovered cloth from used bag filters in the desired size and stitch new usable and environment friendly carry bags.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Ash Handling Department (AHD) and Environment Management (EMG) Department work as team to ensure the supply of these used bag filters to this group (Chhaya Mahila Self Help Group). The partially cleaned filters are sent to their doorstep and NTPC Lara collects the finished bags and residual waste for disposal by co-processing. NTPC Lara pays Chhaya Mahila Self Help Group to create & turning potential industrial waste into valuable resource. This initiative reduces landfill waste and demonstrates how companies can support communities and promote a circular economy.
Members of the self-help organization have become financially independent and essential to the local economy due to their partnership with the NTPC Lara station. The money made from these bag-making operations has given these women more authority by providing them with a steady source of income. The Chhaya Mahila SHG has grown in confidence, showing how sustainable practices can benefit communities and provide long-term advantages to residents.
To date, more than 5000 bags have been manufactured from used waste bag filters and distributed to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags. After being appropriately printed with recycling logos for environmental awareness, these bags are distributed to all the employees of NTPC Ltd at Lara, its associates (CISF, Bank, Post Office, School etc.), shopkeepers, vendors in the township and 100% of the labourers working at the NTPC Lara station. These efforts concerted the NTPC Lara Township (Maitri Nagar) in a single use plastic free township.
Beyond empowering women, the current project has several other significant benefits. NTPC Lara and the Chhaya Mahila SHG help to reduce waste and promote a circular economy by reusing bag filters. Due to their local distribution, these bags aid in replacing single-use plastic bags, which are a significant source of pollution. Giving up plastic bags is essential to reduce plastic waste worldwide. Hopefully, this project will inspire sustainable daily habits among the local community by promoting eco-friendly alternatives. Reusable bags manufactured from bag filters are always a straightforward approach to reducing plastic waste. When sustainability and waste management are the primary goals of the efforts, community engagement is also emphasized. The model’s success relies on industries functioning with local community members to manage waste-related concerns, foster sustainable development, and improve women’s economic empowerment. Considering the current climate change brought on by global warming, this waste-to-wealth approach is viable and highly beneficial.
Typically, scaling up waste-to-wealth attempts may face some of the barriers. Challenges can be seen in this initiative concerning maintaining quality and constant supply of raw materials for managing the supply chain and expanding the efforts to new project areas. However, this accomplishment has cleared the path for sustainable growth. It has served as a model for other businesses looking to make a significant difference by considering their sustainable goals and making investments in their communities. This program has demonstrated that any company may consider a waste-to-wealth approach to turn waste into a resource, highlighting the importance of public participation in environmental issues.
The circular economy concept has been shown by NTPC Lara’s waste-to-wealth effort, which recycled used bag filters into reusable bags that were distributed locally. By doing this, NTPC Lara has reduced enormous waste output, successfully dealt with the cause of plastic contamination, and contributed to the economic empowerment of local women. This program presents how production companies can connect with communities to foster ecologically and collectively responsible solutions that benefit both the environment and the participants. This case study of NTPC Lara represents a practical model that other industries can develop. It explains how regional community action can lead to substantial definite outcomes when combined with circular economy methods. This innovative idea encourages sustainability and supports the local communities for prosperity of all.
