LUCKNOW, Aug. 24 -- What comes out of a coal-fired power plant need not necessarily end up as waste. Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) is attempting to put this principle into practice by looking at everything from fly ash and used oil to scrap metal, wastewater and even old equipment as potential resources.

The state power generator is now working on a multi-pronged circular economy strategy at its thermal power stations, focusing particularly on finding new avenues for ash evacuation, reducing energy consumption and recovering value from materials that were earlier discarded.

"Our approach is to move from waste management to resource management. Every material leaving a plant has to be examined to determine wh...