E-Dialogues 23.0 | Waste Management
Responsible management of waste is key to a sustainable future All India Institute of Local Self-Government, in association with United Nations Centre for Regional Development, 3R Waste Foundation, and Urban Update, organised the 23rd edition of E-Dialogues on the topic ‘Waste to Wealth – Moving towards Circular Economy in India’ on March 22 Team Urban Update
T
he Webinar was moderated by Dr Kulwant Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 3R Waste Foundation. He began by saying that waste to wealth is the need of the hour and according to the website of Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, it is set to be an opportunity worth $14 billion by 2025. He added that it is the first step towards developing a circular economy and will go a long way in managing our waste sustainably. The panel of the webinar consisted Swapan Mehra, Vice-President (Waste to Wealth), Invest India; Harish Babu, Senior Executive, Banka Biloloo Limited; KD Bhardwaj, Regional Director (EEIS), National Productivity Council (NPC); Sampath Rajkumar, Consultant, Rural Development Organisation (RDO)FINISH Mondial; Dr Rajesh C Iyer, Founder, Chairman, CYRA Engines Private Limited, Surat and Nimish Gupta, CEO, RVM (Reverse Vending Machine) Recycle Private Limited.
44 April 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
Mehra began the discussion by defining the ‘Waste to Wealth’ mission of the Government of India. He showed various case studies and on-going projects to convert waste to a more useful form such as ‘Inert waste to Road’ to convert the inert waste of Ghazipur for the construction of roads. He also stressed upon the need to have bio-medical waste disposal facilities at various places and showed various solutions for it. He informed about various sentinels which are working under the Mission Plastic Management Sentinel at Taj Mahal, Agra; Hydrogen from Sewage and Paddy Straw in Ludhiana, Punjab, etc. He concluded by requesting the other panellists to present their suggestions and technologies so that the authorities can work together for a better waste management culture. Babu took the discussion forward and talked about the treatment of faecal sludge and the way forward. He explained various projects undetaken by Banka Bioloo Limited in the field of faecal waste management across the country. He also explained the process of faecal sludge management
in the plant, beginning from the sludge reception to the very end going, through various stages of treatment. He added that the technology of Banka Bioloo is such that 20 to 30 per cent of the excess load can be accepted easily and scaled. “The USP (Unique Selling Point) of the technology is that it is an odourless plant and discharge norms are achieved with minimum electricity and mechanical intervention,” he added. He concluded his session by showing a video of a brief visit to the plant, showing the whole process and infrastructure of the plant which produces treated water and compost for agricultural usage as the output. KD Bhardwaj continued the event with his introduction about the NPC which provides a range of services in the field of Human Resource Management, Energy Management, Information Technology, etc. He spoke about the principles of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and its need in the present times as it will help in reducing waste. Several categories of waste can be clubbed under EPR such as lead acid batteries, plastic waste, e-waste, etc. He also told about the various stakeholders in EPR such as the Central Pollution Control Board, 6 pollution control committees, 900 producers/ manufacturers, multiple collection centres, more than 4000 urban local bodies etc. which have varied roles to play in it. He addressed the issue of slow pace of adoption of EPR and said, “EPR is being adopted, but the process is slow. It is mainly because it has a number of stakeholders responsible for making the process clean for waste management, especially e-waste.” Bhardwaj also cited the example of Taiwan where the system
