Energy recovery in solid waste management through CDM in India and other countries

This paper looks into the clean development mechanism (CDM) projects involving energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW). The paper looks into the municipal waste management problems, regulatory framework in place and the CDM opportunities in India. A comparative assessment of the Indian CDM projects vis a vis projects worldwide is also presented. One hundred and nineteen worldwide CDM projects, including 16 from India, based on MSW and implemented across the developing countries in the world were studied to assess the various processes and methodologies used and the green house gas (GHG) reductions estimated. RDF, composting and landfill gas recovery methods have been explained in brief. Two case studies from India and Brazil have also been outlined. Brazil has the highest number of CDM projects of MSW origin (25) followed by China (16), India (16), Chile (10), Mexico (10) and Argentina (8). Rest of the non-Annex-1 countries have one, two or three projects each. It was observed that out of the 119 projects, 88 projects were using ACM0001 methodology where electricity is being produced and supplied to a grid. Out of the 16 Indian projects, only one of the projects has electricity being supplied to the grid. Nine out of the sixteen projects are based on AMS.III.E. methodology that is RDF. To conclude, India does not have well designed sanitary landfills where methane can be captured. India needs to make conscious effort towards developing more scientific landfills, capture methane and take carbon credits.