Norwegian Ambassador to India, Ms Ann Ollestad and Ms May Britt Myhr, President, SINTEF Petroleum and Energy, Norway signed an agreement in Trondheim, Norway on Friday, 18 June, 2010, for an institutional and technical assistance programme on capacity building and technical support titled “Recovery of alternative fuels and raw materials and treatment of organic hazardous wastes through co-processing in resource and energy intensive industry in India”. The Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi will financially support this project upto NOK 13.66 million over a period of 4 years.
The goal of the programme is to increase the treatment capacity for organic hazardous and industrial waste significantly through co-processing and waste recovery in resource and energy intensive industry (REIIs) in India. SINTEF will have the overall coordination responsibility of the programme and will provide technical support to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in implementing safe and sound co-processing practices in India.
Norway has treated its organic hazardous waste in cement industries for the last 25 years and the Norwegian cement industry currently substitutes more than 50 per cent of its coal with wastes. By integrating co-processing and treatment of wastes in REIIs, India can forgo or significantly reduce its investment in costly waste incinerators, save large amounts of non-renewable fossil fuels and raw materials, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase its waste treatment capacity and reduce impacts of hazardous chemicals.