E-Dialogues | 3R & Circular Economy
APPROACH TO BUILDING RESILIENT CITIES
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R and Circular Economy are the best approaches to handling the increased quantity of domestic waste that flooded waste management authorities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This included, but was not limited to, face masks, gloves, PPE kits etc. In addition to this, the Work from Home culture also meant that the quantity of E-waste also increased manifold. There are, however, many short-term, economically attractive opportunities for resource efficiency, clean energy, and waste reduction. In the longterm, an economic strategy focussed on recycling, circular economy, and clean energy are superior to business as usual. To move forward, it is essential to tackle inequalities in socio-economic systems, strengthen capacities of local actors such as local governments, bridge the digital divide, and pursue a resilient, inclusive, gender-equal, and green economic recovery. To meet the current and future challenges posed by pandemics such as COVID-19, cities must ensure access to water and sanitation for all, plan for the resilience of systems and infrastructures, and use sustainability metrics in choosing and implementing solutions to the pandemic. All India Institute of Local SelfGovernment (AIILSG) and Urban Update, in association with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG ASPAC), organised the twenty-first edition of the webinar series titled ‘E-Dialogues’ on “3R and Circular Economy for Building Resilient Cities in the Post-COVID Era” on Saturday, January 9, 2021.
26 January 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
To address the concerns, Urban update invited a distinguished panel of experts including Rohit Kakkar, Deputy Advisor (PHE), Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs, Government of India; Dr Malini Reddy, Professor (Urban Governance), Administrative Staff College of India; Praveena Sanjay, Director of World Institute of Sustainable Energy, Pune; and Kartik Kapoor, Project Member, Circular and Low Carbon cities, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). The event was moderated by Dr Kulwant Singh, Chief Executive Officer, 3R Waste Foundation. Dr Singh commenced the webinar by introducing the panelists and invited Rohit Kakkar to speak first. He briefly explained what 3R and the scenario of waste management in India is. Stating that urban India accounts for a third of India’s population and generates 54.7 million tonnes of municipal solid waste, he added that the waste generation in India is increasing by 5 per cent every year because of increasing population and consumption. It is estimated that half of the population will be living in cities by 2050, therefore there would be an increase in the quantum of waste produced. Kakkar then presented a pie chart of solid waste composition in urban India and a flow chart of processing of municipal solid waste. He also talked about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Explaining some of the policies interventions for processing of solid waste, Kakkar said that since the policies were launched in 2014, when the waste processing was only 18 per cent, now when we have provided potential resources to the state, the waste processing has reached up to 67 per cent. He pointed out that there are
86,134 waste segregation wards in our country, out of which 66,140 are wards with 100 per cent source segregation. Talking about wastewater management, Kakkar said that the focus should be on improving the sewerage coverage in the country so that wastewater can be brought back in the system and reused. He went on to discuss the progress made under the ‘Clean India Mission’. Kakkar also informed how water can be reused and how the urban water bodies can be recharged.Kakkar concluded by saying that circular sanitation economy is not just a project but an overall practice, depending on the requirement of the town. Dr Singh then added to the information provided by Kakkar and invited Praveena Sanjay to speak next. She talked about how ULBs can work on enabling circular economy for waste management in the postCOVID era. She said, “In 2016, around 2 billion metric tonnes of solid waste was generated by cities across the globe. Unhindered population growth
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