It was learnt that while 20 per cent of sugarcane tops was being fed to animals, the rest was being burnt in the fields along with the entire banana plant waste and 70-80 per cent of rice straw. The Sanghar Sugar Mills agreed to provide the land and funds to build the plant. - File photo

ISLAMABAD: A plant set up in Sanghar, Sindh, by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is generating 50 cubic metres of biogas – sufficient to energise 20 households – in addition to producing 200kg of liquefied and 150kg of solid fertiliser a day by using 400kg of agricultural waste.

The UNEP announced on Wednesday that its Japan-based International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) had taken up the project to convert agricultural waste into clean, sustainable energy. The project was completed at a cost of Rs2 million.

A survey carried out by the IETC and the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, found that 2.5 million tons of waste, comprising wheat and canola straw, cotton stalks, cotton gin waste, sugarcane tops, bagasse, rice straw and husks, and banana plant, was produced in Sanghar district.

A subsequent calculation found that the energy potential of the available waste was equivalent to 1.07 million tons of firewood or 910 million units of electricity. The converted waste could meet the energy demands of roughly 400,000 households.

It was learnt that while 20 per cent of sugarcane tops was being fed to animals, the rest was being burnt in the fields along with the entire banana plant waste and 70-80 per cent of rice straw. The Sanghar Sugar Mills agreed to provide the land and funds to build the plant.