The Ministries of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) have, over the years, collaborated to develop policies and programmes to address these concerns.
However, according to some experts, due to lack of clarity and understanding among stakeholders, as well as poor enforcement by regulators, a majority of these have failed to fulfil their goals.
Despite the efforts of several organisations, experts say, the problems related to collecting, transporting and disposing of solid waste remain unresolved in metropolitan areas, where fast-growing populations generate increasing amounts of waste that urban local bodies (ULBs) are unable to efficiently manage.
In urban India, solid waste management (SWM) has become one of the most significant development concerns owing to microbial decomposition, climate conditions, refuse properties, and land-filling activities.
News18 looks at experts’ suggestions to the problems.
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Prof. Sudha Goel, for example, advises regular monitoring and data collecting are crucial for developing an efficient SWM system in her study, ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management in India: A Critical Review’.
She recommended that to improve SWM practises throughout the country, creating a centralised database based on ULB’s SWM experiences and employing modern tools and technologies such as remote sensing, GIS, and mathematical optimization are required.
Two other researchers, Rajkumar Joshi and Sirajuddin Ahmed, in their 2016 research paper, stated that Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) has failed due to a lack of awareness and technical competence, insufficient budget and ineffective execution of laws and policies.
Another study outlined the various tools for overcoming urban waste management problems in India. It stated that urban waste management should be streamlined using technology, and the SWM system should be made techno-economically viable and sustainable.
THE CLASSIFICATION
Solid waste is classified into three types:
• Biodegradable waste or organic waste (food and kitchen waste, green waste (vegetables, flowers, leaves, fruits, and paper, for example)
• Inert and non-biodegradable waste (construction and demolition waste, dirt, debris, for example)
• Recyclable waste (plastic, paper, bottles, glasses, etc.)
On July 3, 2020, the MoHUA released the toolkit for the Swachh Survekshan 2021. As part of it, a new award category called ‘Pretak Daaur Samman’ was announced.
The new award will classify cities based on six performance indicators, which are:
• Segregation of waste into wet, dry and hazard categories
• Processing capacity against wet waste generated
• Construction and Demolition (C and D) waste processing.
• Percentage of waste going to landfills.
• Sanitation status of cities
C AND D WASTE
According to a report released on August 25, 2020, by the Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India recycles only 1% of its C and D waste.
As per the Building Material Promotion Council, the country generates an estimated 150 million tonnes of C and D waste each year. However, the official recycling capacity is only 6,500 tonnes per day or about 1%.
While releasing the report, Sunita Narain, CSE director general said: “Our study shows that as many as 53 cities were expected to set up recycling facilities to recover material from C and D waste by 2017 — but only 13 cities have done that by 2020. This is unacceptable when the demand for primary building material, including minerals, stone, sand, iron ore, aluminium and timber, is growing at an unprecedented rate.”
“A significant proportion of construction waste can be recycled and reused and brought back to construction to substitute naturally sourced material. This demands a circular economy that can turn C and D waste into a resource. This can help reduce energy intensity and environmental footprints of buildings and infrastructure,” she added.
Recently, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to collect and reuse C and D waste generated across the city on daily basis. Additionally, it was said that the process to hire a private operator for the purpose was completed in just two days, rather than the typical 30 to 45 days.
The operator will have to introduce a helpline number on which citizens can call to get their C and D waste lifted. The operator will also have the right to recover charges from bulk waste generators like builders.
Separately in Noida, on April 10, demolition experts are planning a test explosion of the Supertech twin towers. The test explosion is required to optimise and ensure that the exact amount of explosives to be utilised is known — as more explosives would cause debris to disperse all over.
According to the plan, while the structures will be demolished in nine seconds, the debris will likely take at least three months to be removed. The debris could be disposed of in a low-lying region or processed at a C and D waste facility.
Furthermore, it was reported that on a weekly basis, the area’s dust and noise levels are measured, the amount of waste generated is logged and daily water use is calculated. On-site dust separators have also been installed.
But containing the dust cloud, which may be challenging, will be the most difficult aspect of the demolition. Spraying will be used to try to control the dust cloud, but there is no definitive way to do so.
The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in a 2012 circular instructed states to construct environmentally appropriate C and D recycling facilities in all cities with a population of above 10 lakh.
Additionally, it was said earlier that the Bureau of Indian Standards and Indian Roads Congress shall be responsible for the preparation of a code of practises and standards for the use of recycled materials and products of construction and demolition waste in respect of construction activities, according to the C and D Waste Management Rules, 2016 Rule under the Duties of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Indian Roads Congress (IRC).
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, in the case of the “sustainable model” on C and D waste management, the key components are:
• Practical estimation of C and D waste generation
• Identified sites and timely acquisition of land for development of integrated C and D processing facilities, with necessary approval from local administration / civic bodies
• Specifications/standards for recycled C and D waste products for quality acceptance
• List and mandate the use of recycled products from C and D wastes
• Map water bodies in a city/region – encroachment of water bodies in cities for generating ‘land’ is a common practice observed in several cities
• Research on economically viable C and D recycling options
• Awareness campaign – tools for sensitisation of general public
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