ARTICLE | I Circular Economy
Circular economy or no future of cities India cities generate over 1,00,000 MT of waste per day (CPHEEO). Resources being limited, with rapid population growth, urbanization, and development, cities cannot afford to lose all the waste that it creates. Just collecting and managing waste will not be enough anymore for urban spaces Pooja Upadhyay | Trainee Reporter
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aste management is an extremely important aspect of a society for it impacts lives and environment. It has rightly become a burning issue in recent times, especially in urban areas, owing to the huge amount of waste cities produce. This generation of technology and minds is largely relying on innovations to appear as solutions to challenges faced in management. For example, cities are beginning to introduce solar powered vehicles for door-to-door collection of waste, thereby introducing carbon emission free transportation, while simultaneously ensuring that waste is collected on a regular basis. Waste management consists of transportation, disposal methods, recycling methods, avoidance and reduction methods. Reduction remains one of the most important aspects. Mahendra Singh Tanwar, Commissioner of Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation, had said in an interview with Urban Update that 5000 people can never be enough to manage and clear waste produced by over five lakh people. The ultimate responsibility lies on an individual to manage their own waste at the basic level, thereby making
34 November 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
the process of sorting and managing easier as the waste goes through each stage in the management process.
Provisions and challenges
The Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules notified in 2000 by the Ministry of Environment and Forest dictate urban local bodies (ULBs) to collect waste in a segregated manner with categories including organic/food waste, domestic hazardous waste, and recyclable waste, and undertake safe and scientific transportation management, processing and disposal of municipal waste. However, most ULBs in India are finding it difficult to comply with these rules, implement, and sustain doorto-door collection, waste segregation, management, processing and ensuring safe disposal of MSW due to lack of funds. ULBs in India are in greater need of strengthening in terms of their authority and funds to be able to address issues like waste management. The biggest challenge in India in the waste management sector remains segregation of waste. Even after years of campaigns, teachings and workshops in schools, offices, and colleges on segregating waste at source, ULBs continue to receive waste bags with a mixture of plastic, biodegradable materials, and e-waste. These bags
of mixed waste are then individually opened and each waste is segregated by hand by waste pickers and segregators, thereby putting their health at extreme risk. Engaging the public by imposing fines has been found to be a good method in India, but ULBs need to be strengthened systematically to be able to do so. Waste can only be treated and managed properly if it is considered as a box of hidden treasure by every single individual. When people think of the used product as ultimate waste, they overlook its potential that arises by reusing and recycling. Using biodegradable waste as compost, depositing or selling e-waste at processing centres, etc., are ways in which waste can be turned into treasure. Even recyclable plastics and aluminium cans can be recycled by processing plants. The problem remains that the waste never reaches the processing plants, essentially because presence of informal collection and transportation of waste often leads to all kinds of waste, including electronic waste,
