Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sets up India's Largest C&D Waste Processing Facility
In 2024, MCD commissioned country’s largest construction and demolition waste (C&D) waste recycling plant in Jahangirpuri. Spread over nearly 7 acres, this plant is the largest in the country and has the capacity to recycle 2,000 tons of C&D waste daily. Delhi produces 6,500 tonnes of debris daily. Waste generated from construction and demolition activities will be brought to C&D plants from all over Delhi, where it will be processed and transformed into usable products. This way, Delhi will get rid of waste not only from garbage but also enjoy a circular economy.
EverEnviro Resource Management Private Limited is a market leader in construction and demolition (C&D) waste management and recycling products from private and industrial construction activities. It is also a leading Compressed Biogas developer in India. In addition, the company offers comprehensive solutions for the management of various waste streams, including urban municipal waste, agro waste and hazardous waste. EverEnviro is committed to employing cutting-edge technologies to optimize waste management processes and contribute to a sustainable future. EverEnviro was established in 2019, by EverSource Capital, India’s leading climate impact investor.
By 2025, India will be the world’s third-largest construction market. It will produce over 500 million tonnes of C&D waste each year. This is equal to the weight of millions of elephants! We must act without delay to manage this massive waste. We need new solutions to make our cities sustainable and climate-resilient. The construction and demolition waste are becoming a growing pandemic threatening our urban ecosystems and public health. Addressing this issue requires innovative practices in waste management. It also demands new recycling techniques. Sustainable construction techniques are needed to mitigate its impact on the environment.
In 2019, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF). This initiative aims to make cities climate-resilient. Waste management is a key priority.
Unchecked construction and demolition (C&D) waste has devastating effects with Air Pollution and debris filling lakes and ponds near cities. Landfills are overflowing with discarded construction materials These problems worsen environmental degradation and make cities less livable. Addressing this requires:
The solution is recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste into valuable building materials to achieve a circular economy. Cities like Delhi have led the way by establishing dedicated C&D waste recycling plants as early as 2010. For instance, this Delhi’s Burari facility processes over 2,000 tonnes of waste daily and is currently the largest C&D waste processing facility in India. Overall,12 cities are collectively recycling more than 8,500 tonnes per day of C&D waste using CFlo’s advanced wet processing technology. This approach effectively transforms waste into sand, aggregates, and other value-added products such as paving blocks and tiles, significantly reducing dependence on natural resources.
The Indian government is taking a proactive approach to sustainable construction practices by revising the Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management Rules, 2016. The new rules, which will take effect in April 2025, aim to expand product specifications, promote recycling, and encourage eco-friendly materials, ensuring a greener future for the construction industry. The key features of the revised C&D rules are as follows:
Producers must devise waste management plans to assess waste generation effectively. Companies failing to comply will be charged with environmental compensation, including financial penalties or other corrective actions to address environmental harm
Processed waste will be compulsory in large (>20,000 sq m) construction and road projects
Expanded Scope
The updated standard includes aggregates from C&D and industrial by-products
Recycling Targets
Recycle 50% of C&D waste by 2025 and 100% by 2026
This case study is about India's largest Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste recycling facility, featuring CFlo’s integrated dry and wet processing technology. The plant was custom-designed, engineered, and commissioned by CFlo World Ltd in a record time of 24 weeks. Based on feed characteristics, the plant can produce multiple products, including two grades of sand, two aggregate sizes (10mm and 20mm), and screened soil. Over 90% of the input material is effectively recycled, creating reusable resources for construction and supporting the circular economy.
The facility has a rated feed capacity of 170 tonnes per hour and accommodates material up to 500mm in size. It efficiently removes up to 25% of ultrafines, silt, and lightweight contaminants, with the flexibility to accept varied feed rates. CFlo’s wet processing technology is specifically designed for urban settings, with non-polluting, eco-friendly features including zero liquid discharge (ZLD), 95% water recycling controlled noise levels below 80 dB, and maintenance of PM10 and PM2.5 particulates within safe limits. For the dry processing system, advanced dust suppression ensures minimal dust emissions.
The integrated plant combining crushing and wet processing equipment operates with a total power consumption of 890 kW (standard 440V 3 Phase 50Hz Power Supply in India). The top-up water requirement for smooth plant operation is approximately 32 m³/hr. Its unique modular design ensures a small footprint, utilizing about 100m x 80m of land, including the stockpile area.
Designed specifically to maximize sand production, one of the highest value products in the Delhi market, the system typically achieves a silt cut off at 75 microns, with the flexibility to achieve even finer cut off points if required. The resulting sand has a moisture content of approximately 10 to 12%, appears visually dry, and is ready for direct dispatch and use.
The circuit begins with our Guardian Portable Scalping Screener, effectively managing the raw C&D waste for processing. An apron-type hopper with an open-discharge design is paired with a heavy-duty belt feeder and a scalping screen with a 100mm opening to segregate large oversize materials, which are then isolated and fed into a Jaw Crusher. The raw C&D waste material is fed into the hopper to regulate the feed rate via the integrated belt feeder, with the speed controlled by a VFD drive to maintain the desired feed rate (provided there is material in the hopper). The Jaw Crusher discharges material onto a static feed conveyor, which then transports the C&D waste to the next stage. Oversize trash materials are manually removed via a picking station whereas a suspended magnet is used to catch remainder metal. The output from the scalping screen and the crushing circuit is sent to a secondary crushing stage, comprising a Cone Crusher and sizing screen. The material is crushed to a minus 20mm size and sent to wet processing system (stage 2) for further processing.
The material from Stage 1 is fed into the primary Rinsing Screen, where particles are separated into 20mm to 10mm and minus 10mm fractions. The Rinsing Screen is equipped with high-pressure water jet washing systems on each deck to ensure thorough rinsing and remove most fines from the feed. The minus 10mm fraction is sent to a set of Hydrocyclone unit for washing, while the 20mm to 10mm particles are directed to the Scrubmax Log Washer integrated into the plant chassis. Here, the material undergoes intense scrubbing in a wet environment, aided by added water to help loosen adhering cement particles. The fine slimes are released from the surface during repeated tumbling, and any trash material in the feed is separated and removed at the lower end of the machine. The trash is then directed to an integrated trash removal area for separation and stockpiling. The scrubbed material from the log washer falls onto the secondary Rinsing Screen for final rinsing and size separation. The product is then stockpiled via a stockpiling conveyor. Optionally, the clean 10-20mm particles can be sent to a Vertical Impact Crusher (VSI) for tertiary crushing to boost sand production. All sand particles, along with most of the water and silt, flow by gravity to the sump of the sand washing circuit.
A turbo dual-wash sand processing system is used for processing sand, combining a sump, pump, sizing/dewatering screen, and cyclones. The slurry from the sump and pump is mixed with water to achieve the desired solid-to-water ratio. The minus 10mm material is pumped into the first-stage cyclone for initial washing. This process removes most of the ultra-fines (clay, <75 microns). The product from this cyclone is discharged and stockpiled. The underflow from the cyclone enters a second-stage cyclone, which removes the remaining <75-micron slimes. The sand is then sent to a Counter Flow Classification Unit (CFCU) for final processing. The CFCU uses an upward current to separate heavier particles, which fall to the bottom, while lighter particles are suspended and overflow the top. The clean sand is discharged onto a dewatering screen to achieve low moisture content. The final product is then stockpiled using a mobile conveyor. The overflow from the CFCU, containing ultrafine particles, is dewatered and sent to the integrated water recycling system (WRS) for the recycling of the process water.
The slurry from the washing circuit (hydrocyclone overflow) enters a water recycling system for rapid settlement and control of tailings. The dense sludge is discharged by a heavy-duty pump to a remote settlement area. Clean recycled water is released from the system and stored in a water storage tank, ready for reuse in the washing circuit. This water treatment system is preferred over other mechanical settlement aids because it minimizes agitation of the sludge bed and uses significantly less polyelectrolyte. Moreover, the system allows the pumping of waste solids to a remote area, freeing up valuable plant space.
The sludge or screened soil is discharged to the settlement bay via an in-built slurry pump. A high-pressure flexible feed pipe connects to the existing slurry pipeline, which carries the screened soil to the pond. The polymer is mixed in the Polymer Dosing tank, part of the Easysettle Sludge Bay Manager, to create a proper solution. The dosing system, controlled by a PLC panel, ensures the correct flow rate and adjustments. An in-line mixer is installed in the slurry pipeline to ensure proper polymer mixing with the sludge/screened soil during dosing. The slurry and polymer mixture is then consistently fed to the settlement bay, where the polymer causes the sludge to coagulate, draining water and solidifying the mixture. The clear water is separated and recovered, then pumped out from the pond for reuse.
Internationally, recycling of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste has become a standard practice, and India is now embracing this approach to reduce the misuse of fertile land caused by dumping debris. CFlo’s technology produces recycled products that match the quality of virgin materials, making them fully reusable for construction projects. This practice helps manage construction waste, reduce air pollution and salvage materials for the industry. Additionally, it supports the ban on illegal river sand mining across India, where applicable. The recycled aggregates, including high-quality washed sand, serve as a sustainable substitute for natural sand. Whether due to river sand mining bans or local shortages of sand and aggregate, these systems provide operators with an effective solution to enhance operational efficiency while ensuring a steady supply of material.
Internationally, recycling of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste has become a standard practice, and India is now embracing this approach to reduce the misuse of fertile land caused by dumping debris. CFlo’s technology produces recycled products that match the quality of virgin materials, making them fully reusable for construction projects. This practice helps manage instruction waste, reduce air pollution and salvage materials for the industry. Additionally, it supports the ban on illegal river sand mining across India, where applicable. The recycled aggregates, including high-quality washed sand, serve as a sustainable substitute for natural sand. Whether due to river sand mining bans or local shortages of sand and aggregate, these systems provide operators with an effective solution to enhance operational efficiency while ensuring a steady supply of material.
| Product | Application | Features & Benefits | Usage Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled Aggregate 5-10 mm | Mainly use in road sub base In low bearing blocks |
Good replacement of natural resources | |
| Recycled Aggregate 10-20 mm | Same as 10mm aggregate | Same as above |
| Product | Application | Features & Benefits | Usage Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled Aggregate 5-10 mm |
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Use as river sand |
| Product | Application | Features & Benefits | Usage Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled Concrete Aggregate 10 & 20 mm |
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| Product | Application | Features & Benefits | Usage Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufactured Sand from RCA |
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| Product | Application | Features & Benefits | Usage Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screened Soil |
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| Test | IS code | Parameters | Unit | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modified proctor compaction test |
IS:2720 P-8 |
MOD OMC |
g/cc% |
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| Direct shear test | IS:2720 P-13 |
Cohesion(c) Angle of fraction |
Kg/cm2 Degrees |
0 35.5 |
| Grain size analysis | IS:2720 P-4 |
Passing 75 mm Passing 425 micron Passing 75 micron |
% % % |
100 54 32 |
| Chemical analysis |
IS:2720 P-26 IS:3025 P-32 IS:2720 P-27 |
pH value Chlorides Sulphates |
- % % |
8.18 0.03 0.09 |
| Atterberg limit |
IS:2720 P-5 |
Liquid limit Plastic limit Plasticity index |
% % % |
24.6 19.1 5.5 |
| Organic content | IS:2720 P-22 | Organic content | ppm | 612 |
| Precast Product | Technical Specifications | Application | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paver block |
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| Brick tile |
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| Dumble shape tile |
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| Chequered Tile |
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Concrete brick block are the most durable block. Perfect for applications requiring load bearing capacity, high acoustic Performance and unfinished facing applications. Concrete brick block are manufactured from recycled material.
| Test | Result | RequirementIS: 2185 P-2, Grade |
Conformity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg.block density,kg/cm |
1.669.1 |
1.600 max |
Still in bounded limits |
| Avg. Compressive strength,N/mm2 |
1.4.1 |
1.2.5 min |
Yes |
| Avg. Compressive strength,N/mm2 |
1.0.1 |
1.8.0 max |
Yes |
| Thermal conductivity W/mk |
1.03 |
- |
IS 3346-980 |
CFlo’s integrated Dry & Wet Construction & Demolition waste processing technology efficiently removes contaminants from feed material, resulting in high-quality sand and aggregates with consistent grade and quality, comparable to natural materials. This contributes to the circular economy and lowers concrete costs. The recycled products produced through CFlo’s wet processing technology convert waste into valuable resources, including sand, aggregates, and value-added products like paving blocks and tiles, thereby reducing the need for natural resources.
