Digging into Organic Waste to Enable India Achieve Development Goals

Bijson is a biotechnology company addressing the needs of bulk waste generators. It transforms wet waste into biogas and organic manure

It was December 2016. Amit Kumar Jain, the founder-director of Jaipur-based Bijson Innovations Pvt. Ltd , had given a passionate speech about his company at a startup policy launch event organised by the Himachal Pradesh government. At the end of the programme, the director of IIT-Mandi approached him for help. The educational institute had been unable to compost its huge kitchen waste. “Where some of the finest minds floundered, we came up with an effective solution and from day 1, our waste management plant started showing results,” recalls Amit with a tinge of pride. A glowing recommendation letter from the institute helped him bag contracts to set up 36 plants across the state.?

So, what was the magic??

“It’s all in the bacteria,” he says. “We have developed a unique consortia, a group of diverse microorganisms, that can break down organic waste under temperatures ranging between -5 degree to 70 degree centigrade.”?

It had taken them one-and-a-half years to find the right mix. Bijson collaborated with top universities in India and US and funded its R&D quest at these facilities. This high-performing bacteria ensures that the conversion of waste happens faster than the other technologies available in the market. Due to a faster turnaround time, clients can get the job done with smaller containers, involving less capital expenditure.?

Process Innovations?

Bijson specialises in plug and play anaerobic digesters (oxygen-free tanks), which are manufactured at the company’s Jaipur plant, and installed at the client site. The installations come in various capacities – from 100 kgs to 50 tonnes. “Instead of erecting one huge tank, which can malfunction and bring the entire operation to a halt, we build a series of small digesters to process enormous amounts of waste. This way even if a couple of digesters develop a snag, the rest would still be producing results. It empowers the customers to deal with varying amounts of different kinds of wet waste,” he says.?

Anaerobic digestion yields two valuable things: biogas and slurry. Depending on the client’s requirement, biogas can be scrubbed clean of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and water to produce biomethane, which can be used for cooking, generating electricity, and mobility.?

The slurry is a great organic manure and can be bought by nurseries. Or, the solid particles in the slurry can be filtered out and sold to organic farmers.?

Reach and Scaling up?

Since 2018, Bijson has set up more than 150 installations in 10 states, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal – in diverse climatic conditions. Its clients are bulk waste generators like the HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes) industry, educational institutions, hospitals, Army cantonments, the Railways and places of worship.??

With 10+ years of experience in the field of biomass energy and biofuel, Amit has developed government and corporate connects and an astute business sense to take Bijson to the next level. He is eyeing urban local bodies (ULBs), which are looking for processing plants to deal with their segregated waste. “We are already working with the ULBs in Rajasthan and now the Maharashtra government has asked us to install digesters in 11 ULBs. Once we have demonstrated a successful working model, work will start pouring in as there is tremendous opportunity in decentralised waste management systems,” he says.?

To put things in perspective, Mumbai alone generates around 6,900 metric tonnes (MT) of waste everyday – one-third of what the entire state produces. The quantum of wet waste originating from the Maximum City is pegged at 3,500 MT, most of which comes from the housing societies.?

Amit is also considering rural India to expand operations. The government is keen on helping over 2 lakh villages achieve solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) under Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen- Phase II. Bio-degradable waste management is an important component under SLWM and the Gobardhan Scheme that aims to “ensure cleanliness in villages by converting bio-waste including cattle waste, kitchen leftovers, crop residue and market waste to improve the lives of villagers”. Every district under the Gobardhan scheme will get technical and financial assistance of up to Rs 50 lakh. “The Maharashtra government has chosen us as technical advisors, and we will be putting up our digesters in a few rural areas,” says Amit.?

Saving the Planet?

Indian households are yet to wake up to the importance of separating dry and wet waste. This results in lakhs of tonnes of untreated trash ending up in landfills. It can only spell doom for the environment because landfills release methane, the most potent of all greenhouse gases. When poisonous substances combine with decaying organic matter in dumping grounds, it affects soil quality and contaminates surface and groundwater. With every act of diverting waste from the landfill, Bijson is saving the planet and helping people prosper. Moreover, biogas can help solve challenges related to 9 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals.?

The Social Alpha Perspective?

Coming from a business family, Amit grew up in an environment that encourages entrepreneurship. Long before setting up Bijson, Amit has been in the business of biofuels. He holds an MBA from RTU and is an alumnus of LIF, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK. Bijson’s co-founder Raj Kumar Saini is a mechanical engineer who handles the company’s day-to-day operations. The startup has earned several awards, including the Rajasthan State SBM (G) Award in 2018, and was a finalist at the TiE (Asia) competition.?

Amit is far from being an armchair entrepreneur, says Gantavya Kshatree, Portfolio Manager in Social Alpha for Bijson. “He is always exploring ways of improving Bijson’s offerings, finding new markets, and adapting his products to new and challenging situations. Amit is also well-known among Jaipur’s startup founders and angel investors,” he adds.??

Bijson fits Social Alpha ’s waste-to-value thesis. By converting every ton of food waste into biogas and manure, the startup is reducing the burden on landfills. Their inoculum and digesters are evidence of technological innovations. Bijson inspires confidence in the belief that the fight against climate change will only get stronger and more resilient in the coming days.?

About the Author

A journalist for 20 years handling multiple roles on the field and at the desk, Pratik Ghosh takes abiding interest in social, economic and political issues. He calls himself a?Content Farmer, cultivating Social Alpha’s deep engagement with science and tech startups that are striving to solve India’s stubborn developmental challenges at the grassroots.