A few years ago, overflowing garbage dumps and scattered waste were a common sight across Hyderabad. But today? The city has undergone a massive transformation, and it’s something the rest of the country can take note of. Driving this change is a systematic network of waste transfer stations, where small vehicles, known locally as ‘swachh autos’, deliver waste collected from households. The waste is then compressed and transported to Jawahar Nagar, around 50 kilometres away, for processing.

Advanced machinery, such as trommels and ballistic separators, segregates the waste into three categories — organic, combustible, and inert. The organic waste is converted into compost and sold to fertiliser companies, while the combustible waste is turned into refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which powers waste-to-energy plants or is sold to cement companies for use in their kilns. The inert waste, which has a low calorific value, is sent to a landfill.

This entire system is managed by ‘Re Sustainability’ (earlier known as Ramky Enviro Engineers), one of Asia’s largest environmental services companies. Their goal? Make sure not even a single piece of municipal waste goes unprocessed. They play a crucial role in managing 9,000 tonnes of Hyderabad’s municipal waste.

Masood Mallick, Managing Director and CEO of Re Sustainability, shared, “Almost all the municipal waste that Hyderabad generates is collected and processed,” and further highlighted, “The city started its scientific waste management journey 25 years ago. Today, it leads the nation not just in waste management but also in exploring new business models, developing technologies and incubating various innovations in this space,” he told Mint.

Turning a waste dump into a resource hub

Jawahar Nagar, once the city’s main dumping ground, now houses one of the world’s largest single-location solid waste processing facilities. This complex includes two large waste-to-energy plants with a combined capacity of 48 megawatts (MW),........

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