In an important step toward sustainable urban waste management, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has signed a contract with Nexband Renewables to convert the capital's vegetable waste into high-grade biofuel.
According to The New Indian Express, the cooperation, which was formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Monday in the presence of Mayor Sulochana Das, will see the construction of a 150-tonne per day (TPD) compressed biogas (CBG) facility.
The factory, located in the Khuntabandha district of Begunia, Khurda, is designed to produce around 6,000 kg of automobile-grade bio-CNG per day. This project builds on a prior agreement between the BMC and Oil India Ltd for a separate 200-tonne capacity CBG plant in Meherpalli, reinforcing the city's commitment to scientific waste processing.

Circular Economy in Agriculture
Beyond fuel generation, the Begunia plant will be an important supplier of organic farming inputs. The facility is projected to produce 16 TPD of solid organic fertiliser and 60 TPD of liquid organic fertiliser, aiming to promote soil enrichment and sustainable agriculture practices in the region.
Local farmers are also expected to gain directly from the project. According to BMC Deputy Commissioner for Sanitation, N Ganesh Babu, the plant will use a combination of vegetable waste and Napier grass. The latter is projected to generate new revenue streams for rural areas via dedicated horticulture.Streamlining urban sanitation.
The project establishes a rigorous logistics framework to keep the city's marketplaces clean. The operating strategy contains the following key details:
Source Segregation: Waste will be segregated at the source before the BMC transports it to specified collection stations.
Strategic Hubs: The Temporary Transit Station (TTS) at Sainik School, as well as the busy daily markets at Unit-I, Unit-IV, and Damana, will serve as initial lifting sites.
Rapid Clearance: To avoid public disturbance, Nexband Renewables is required to remove waste within 24 hours after collection.
Zero-Nuisance Mandate: The agency will manage all processing at its own expense and risk, while adhering to high environmental requirements to eliminate odour, spillage, and pollution.Environmental Impact
By redirecting biodegradable vegetable garbage from the TTS near Sainik School, the BMC hopes to relieve load on current transit infrastructure. Officials stated that the project would not only enhance cleanliness in congested market areas, but would also ensure that urban waste is managed in a contemporary, scientific manner that meets environmental standards.
The switch to bio-energy represents a double success for capital: it provides a cleaner option for the transport sector while also addressing the logistical difficulty of organic waste accumulation.