First-of-its-kind initiative aimed at waste management; officials stress need for more such projects at other dumpyards in city

The Public Works Department (PWD) has taken a small step towards the possible replacement of ever-mounting piles of trash at Delhi’s sprawling landfill sites with a public resource that everyone can use: roads.

A small section of the Bhalswa landfill site, which is spread over 21 acres and receives about 2,700 tonnes of garbage every day, recently saw the successful implementation of a year-long pilot project underlined by the construction of a 300-metre-long waste-to-concrete model road on a part of the landfill.

The stretch is part of a longer road which measures around 8 kilometres and runs between Wazirabad and Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar parallel to Outer Ring Road.

Mounting problem

Delhi generates an estimated 5,000 metric tonnes of garbage daily. But previous efforts to make waste-to-concrete roads such as this one have failed.

In November 2016, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain had announced that the Delhi government intended to ensure that 50% to 60% of the waste at landfills was used for the construction of roads. Earlier this year, however, Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal had pitched for the use of solid waste from Delhi's landfills in the construction of highways.

“It is the first stretch of its kind to be constructed on a landfill and might be the answer to the re-utilisation of land which is part of similar sites such as Okhla and Ghazipur. It was constructed a year ago and studied for possible maintenance issues related to deterioration, but no such problems arose,” a senior government official claimed.

Techniques used

The main highlight of the modest stretch is the utilisation of geogrids in its construction. The said technique sees the use of polymer grills to create the base of a particular structure followed by common construction methods.

In this case, the landfill area was cut up to 2.25 metres below the proposed road, following which geogrids were used to stabilise the landfill. A layer of sand measuring 200 mm and graded stone layer of 150 mm was laid to prevent the geogrid from coming in contact with the landfill and a graded stone layer of 150 mm was laid yet again before concrete was laid.

Boon for residents

According to the official, the stretch was constructed at a cost of ₹1.75 crore. Departmental estimates posit that similar roads could be constructed at a cost of ₹3.14 crore per kilometre in future.

“Currently, garbage management is a daily challenge for the authorities due to space constraints. As and when the necessary approvals for the construction of such roads at landfill sites are obtained, this could very well be a boon for motorists as well as residents,” the official said.