WE MEAN TO CLEAN's Recommendations to Achieve a Swachh Bharat - I

India is one big nation. We are rich in cultural heritage. Over century we’ve developed, economically, especially the middle class. About 43% of population resides in urban areas, which were 11.4% according to 1901 census, 28.53% in the 2001 census and crossed 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%. There are 53 urban agglomerations in India with a population of 1 million or more as of 2011 against 35 in 2001.

Our transcendence can be termed as “a consumerist culture”, where virtually every item purchased comes fixed in a box wrapped in a bubble sheet. In science, this fact reduces time of impact and absorbs the momentum after collision but in reality it is aggregating to an irreparable damage to environment. It is waste generation. 

India generates 62 million tonnes out of which 43 million Tonnes Per Annum is collected from source. Read below:

• 5.6 million tonnes is plastic waste
• 0.17 million tonnes is biomedical waste, 15 lakh tonne is e-waste
• 7.90 million TPA is hazardous waste generation

Our country today is growing at a profitable pace. The per capita waste generation in Indian cities ranges from 200 grams to 600 grams per day. Due to present efficiency only 11.9 million is treated and 31 million is dumped in landfill sites, which means:

• 75-80% of the municipal waste gets collected
• 22-28 % of this waste is processed and treated

If this is to pertain then waste generation will increase from 62 million tonnes to about 165 million tonnes in 2030. Our policy makers have updated last year, at latest, the rules for solid waste management which now extend to jurisdiction beyond municipal areas. As citizens, it is our duty to obey law of the land but it is our responsibility to regard the land.

The World War II veteran, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who led in North Africa, himself believed that, education yields better than re-education. Change is not an overnight journey, unless we fight a battle in a war. It may take ages to be visible. 

We have waste management infrastructure but no buffer zones. Most of the existing solid waste management facilities are practicing crude dumping of solid waste. In some cases where solid waste is processed, the situation is still alarming due to use of conventional treatment technologies coupled with poor operation and maintenance.

In this blog series we will attempt to cover all these aspects with our suggestions and recommendations towards achieiving a clean India or a Swachh Bharat.

Adopting a Strategy for Waste Management

The growth of economy, start-up culture and investments has generated employment and opportunities. Apparently, it’s a buyer’s market and buying everything online has resulted into “Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY)” syndrome which is an acute version of open littering.

Government of a country is responsible for governance and enforcement. We have certain responsibilities also. Gandhi Ji always practiced, “Be the change you want to see.” 

• To reduce wastage, we can simply follow minimization
• Minimization, reuse, material recycling, energy recovery and safe disposal
• We can follow a strategy where it is necessary to move up the above hierarchical preference

A simple way towards waste disposal is to adopt the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Switching to items that can be refilled like printer cartridges or glue and reusing of plastic folders. Use old wood and pallets to build compost bins. Reuse toiletries like shampoo bottles as cell charging stations, old toothbrushes as cleaning tools.

We can judge ourselves based on the performance against the overall goal of sustainability. Factors will be discussed in relation to centralized, home, and community composting schemes, across all the member states.

In the next part we will look at further steps in waste management.

(All data sourced from various public sources)