Battle against
growing tide of waste
The Ministry of
Environment and Forests is fighting a battle against the growing tide of
municipal waste. A small effort at segregating
trash at source would be a good thing for household budgets of the citizens.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar
says that the estimated 62 million tonnes of waste a year is not fully
collected or treated. It will go up
to some 165 million tonnes in 2030.
Even where
environmentally conscious citizens segregate at source, the chain of management
dumps it all in landfills. The local bodies should not
continue functioning in business-as-usual mode. Municipalities should focus
principally on creating reliable systems to handle different waste streams.
If India could start with the separation
of its ‘wet’ waste from the rest and produce good compost that could transform
cities and towns into clean and green havens filled with trees, gardens, lakes
and rivers. It would also salvage millions of tonnes of recyclable plastic, precious
metals and other materials.
Preparation
should commence at the base, the source of the waste. Households need guidance
in the first instance to separate their garbage in a ready to transport and
ready to use categories. Guidance should be followed by monitoring to ensure
whether they are adhering to instructions. Third step of course should be by
implementing punitive measures.
Waste has
become a problem mainly in metro cities where huge amount of garbage pile up
and for want of proper mechanism for disposal, is littered literally from
roadside to compound walls in residential areas. There should be environmental
cleaning done as well as arrest of spread of disease due to polluted air and
stench emanating from the spread of waste material for days
The segregation
of waste at the point of origin and Composting and methanation of solid waste
is a visionary move to bring a pragmatic solution for mounting garbages. Especially
the waste generated by restaurants to be treated by themselves with Composting is
a fine rule which could generate some revenue.
Public think
that they pay tax and government has the responsibility to treat the waste. But
the new rule brings inclusive management of waste with the involvement of the
stake holders. The feasible state central coordination in implementation of new
waste management rules must be high irrespective of the parties in power.
The most
important action would be for the corporations to provide storage bins to hold
recyclables, bio waste and garbage for land fill separately. The bins must be
clearly marked. Perhaps the corporation officials should study the procedures
in advanced nations like Germany, Canada etc.
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