Waste Management in India
The incident that occurred at Delhi’s Ghazipur area is a stark reminder
that India’s neglected waste management crisis can have deadly consequences. Cities and towns are not complying with
Solid Waste Management Rules. Scientific
processing can make the 62 million
tonnes of waste generated annually in the country a potential resource.
The Swachh Bharat programme of the Centre should put more pressure on State and
municipal authorities than on
individuals to move closer to scientific management by the deadline of April
2018. Organic waste that could help green cities and feed small and affordable
household biogas plants is simply being thrown away. India is doing little to prevent plastic bags from drifting into
suburban garbage mountains, rivers, lakes and the sea.
The Central Pollution Control Board should put out periodic assessments
of the preparedness of urban local bodies in the run-up to the deadline. It is only when waste is segregated at
source (as much as possible) the task of deriving value out of it and treating
it becomes economical and much easier.
In US, source segregation is done by each house as they are supplied with
separate bins. On appointed days, the bins are placed before each one's house and
the trash collected. After which it is not known what is done. Why India can't copy
this?
The problem of Waste management, as in all other Government initiated schemes,
is one of scientific planning and working from Bottom-up. But this is never the
case, and instead, schemes are brought up on spur-of-the-moment burst of imagination,
without any thoughts on the What/Why/How/When etc.
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