Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project (KSWMIP), a joint venture project between Arcadis and Yachiyo Engineering of Japan, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has won the Solid Waste Management Category award at the C40 Cities Awards 2016. The awards recognise the world’s leading urban climate change projects, policies and programmes.
KSWMIP benefits more than a million people spread over 65 square kilometers on the western bank of the River Ganga by minimising waste generated in six municipalities of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Area in eastern India. The project, which was completed in May 2016, segregates recyclable waste, composts organic waste, landfills inert waste and treats septic sludge. It helps to prevent uncontrolled bacterial decomposition of waste and to reduce methane gas and CO2 emissions. It has also reduced associated hygiene hazards and ground water contamination.
Mainak Hazra, Head of Environment, India at Arcadis, comments: “We are honoured that KSWMIP has received such prestigious recognition from the C40 Cities Awards and we are very proud of what our team has achieved. Before KSWMIP, waste was disposed without proper planning, which caused land, water and air pollution. Poor sewage and waste dumping management on the banks of the Ganga River had damaged the ecosystem and resulted in the extinction of several hundred aquatic species. Through KSWMIP, we are able to apply our global expertise in environmental management to improve the quality of life for people around the region. The project has also brought behavioural changes within the community to adapt appropriate waste management practices. We hope that the project will continue to help control pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
