Challenges.
Waste Management
For a clean environment, efficient waste management system is an essential requirement. For an efficient waste management system segregation of different types of waste at source of the generation of waste, is the starting point.
In all parts of the country, people by and large do salvage reusable or saleable material from waste and sell it for a price, e. g. newspaper, glass bottles, empty tins, plastic items, clothes etc., and to that extent such reusable / recyclable waste material is not thrown out for disposal.
However, a lot of recyclable dry waste such as wastepaper, plastic, broken glass, metal, packaging material etc., is not segregated and is thrown on the streets along with domestic / trade / institutional waste. Such waste is picked up to some extent by poor rag pickers for their livelihood. But lot remains uncollected and cause an issue for waste management system.
Government of India has initiated rules for solid waste management system including plastics waste management system across the country. Segregation of waste at least into Dry (for recycling) and Wet (for composting / bio methanation etc) is a law now. Rules specify the collection, transportation, and delivery to the processing points for further actions for their recycling or processing. Rules have been made for other types of waste like construction & demolition waste, medical, electronic, hazardous waste also.
With continuous follow ups by different levels of implementing authorities and stake holders, these rules have been implemented in many parts of the country at different degree of success. Still in many parts of the country, these rules are not followed properly. Common people still indulge in littering creating an unmanageable quantum of waste strewn in different corners of urban and village areas.
Proper awareness is being created to impress upon the common mass that we must act responsibly while disposing our waste. When the wastes are collected and taken to the processing points, almost all types of waste, including all types of plastics waste can be and in fact is being recycled in one process or the other. This helps in resource management and helps reduce environmental pollution.
Our target should be making the country free from any landfill – all waste should be either recycled, composted, or recovered (energy). Many developed countries have already achieved this target.
The Silver Lining.
- India has huge potential for recycling of plastics, paper, glass and metals. The plastic processing industry employs over 4.5 million technical people and has 50, 000 plus units with an annual turnover of Rs. 5.05 lakh crore as per All India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA). (Source: Plastindia Foundation)
- All plastics are 100% recyclable, and the relevant technologies are already available in the country.
What can we do?
Just as we have a very effective system for recycling newspapers and some other waste in our homes, we must also keep all plastics waste carefully segregated, may be along with other dry wastes, and handover the same to the waste pickers of the society or do it ourselves and finally handover the waste to the solid waste collection system of the civic body / panchayat or any other waste collection system developed by a local NGO. We must remember whether we get any ‘sale value’ in return for this disposed waste or not, it is our duty to segregate the waste generated by us and hand it over to the waste collection system as per agreed arrangements. Once the waste is collected, it would be processed and recycled / recovered by the industry. We must do our part of the responsible activity.
