Revision as of 09:07, 11 June 2018

The waste generated every day in some cities in 2016: in tonnes
The Times of India

Waste generation in india;Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 15, 2016

Region-wise

2017-18: the performance of 20 cities

‘My city could be one of Delhi’s wards’, June 8, 2018: The Times of India

4 out of 20 cities assessed in 2017-18 by CSE have a segregation % higher than 90
From: ‘My city could be one of Delhi’s wards’, June 8, 2018: The Times of India

Capital Can Take A Cue From Tiny Panchgani That Has Ensured 100% Waste Segregation At Source

Can Delhi learn from waste management practices of Panchgani, a hill station with only 15,000 inhabitants and a floating population of a few lakhs? Or, from Alappuzha, which doesn’t need to collect waste — it only supports people by subsidising bio-gas plants or composters? Maybe.

Panchgani mayor Laxmi Karhadkar, who gave a presentation on how Panchgani ensured 100% waste segregation at source in the past couple of years, said: “My city could be one of Delhi’s wards.”

On Thursday, municipal commissioners and municipality staff working on waste management gathered to share their stories of decentralised waste management at the Forum of Cities that Segregate, organised by the Centre for Science and Environment. An assessment report for 2017-18 with citywise ranking (for 20 cities of different population sizes) was also released. Karhadkar said she had an annual budget of only Rs 5 crore, which was too little to invest in high-technology waste management solutions, because the city had other needs too. Instead, she ensured that each household was given garbage segregation bins from CSR funding.

Swachcha grahis were sent to each household, they taught the garbage collectors to collect only segregated waste. “We started by explaining to people and appealing to them, then warning them and, finally, fining if they didn’t segregate,” Karhadkar said, adding that “segregation and recycling should go hand in hand, otherwise there is no use as the waste will get mixed at the dumpyard”.

Alappuzha also has 100% waste segregation at source. It doesn’t landfill, instead a majority of the households have biogas plants and composting systems, making it a highly decentralised system.

Delhi, which has centralised waste management heavily dependent on landfills, has been facing a massive shortage of space, so much so that the East Delhi Municipal Corporation wants two locations on the Yamuna river floodplain or ‘O’ zone for landfill sites.

IIT-Delhi had recently observed that no reparation work was possible at the Ghazipur landfill site where EDMC was currently dumping its waste. More than 1,600MT of solid waste continues to be dumped at the site, 17 years after its scheduled closure. The landfill’s height has touched 65m and is extremely vulnerable to accidents. Despite this, the segregation % of EDMC and South Delhi Municipal Corporation is below 33 compared to more than 90 in Indore, Alapuzzha, Vengurla and Panchgani, according to the assessment. But the collection and transportation efficiency of EDMC and SDMC are above 90%; yet, SDMC and EDMC landfill nearly 50% of their waste compared to less than 10% in Alappuzha, Panchgani and Vengurla.

West Bengal

Kolkata: C40 Award for best solid waste management improvement project, 2016

NDTV, December 2, 2016

Kolkata, along with 10 other cities from across the globe, has been honoured with the best cities of 2016 award in recognition of its inspiring and innovative programme with regard to solid waste management.

"Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project has achieved 60-80 per cent (depending on site) segregation of waste at its source, with further waste segregation occurring at transfer stations," a media release said on the occasion of international summit of Mayors of millions plus cities of which Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi are its members from India.

"Forward looking, the project aims to eradicate open dumping and burning of waste and to limit the concentration of methane gas generated in landfill sites," it said.

Kolkata is the only Indian city to receive the prestigious award. It received the award during the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City.

Delhi: waste management

See: Delhi: waste management

Disposal of garbage on roads

The Indian Express, December 20, 2016

Throwing garbage in public can cost you Rs 10,000: NGT

Any person found disposing garbage in a public place will be fined Rs 10,000, the National Green Tribunal said.

The tribunal said that all authorities are under a statutory obligation to ensure that waste is collected, transported and disposed of in accordance with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, so that it does not cause a public health hazard.

“All major sources of municipal solid waste generation – hotels, restaurants, slaughter houses, vegetable markets, etc, should be directed to provide segregated waste and hand over the same to the Corporation in accordance with the rules,” said NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar.

“Any institution, person, hotels, residents, slaughter houses, vegetable markets, etc, which do not comply with the directions and continue disposing waste over drains or public places, shall be liable to pay an environmental compensation at the rate of Rs 10,000 per default,” added Kumar. Kumar said that the city generates 9,600 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and there is no clear map ready with the municipal bodies to deal with the huge quantity of waste.

He also directed the commissioner of each corporation to submit a scheme, within a month, for providing incentive to encourage people to segregate waste at the source. The incentive could be by way of rebate in property tax, he added.

“Penalties can be imposed on residents, societies, RWAs etc, who do not provide segregated waste. It should be kept in mind that as per ‘polluter pays’ principle, each person would be liable to pay for the pollution they cause through waste disposal,” said Kumar.

“It is the duty of a citizen to ensure that said waste is handled properly and not add to the pollution or cause inconvenience to other persons. The entire burden cannot be shifted on the state and authorities,” he added.

Plastic waste

2018: Amount generated and recycled

Jasjeev Gandhiok, It’s city vs plastic and you’re losing, June 5, 2018: The Times of India

Plastic waste in India- The amount generated and recycled-2018
From: Jasjeev Gandhiok, It’s city vs plastic and you’re losing, June 5, 2018: The Times of India

World Environment Day: Waste Continues To Pile Up As Multiple Bans Fail

With “beat plastic pollution” being the theme of the World Environment Day this year, there is renewed focus on a problem that has assumed worrying proportions.

According to CPCB data, India generates 15,342 tonnes of plastic waste per day (about 5.6 million tonnes annually), out of which Delhi alone contributes to 690 tonnes daily — making it the largest contributor, followed by the likes of Chennai (429.4 tonnes per day), Kolkata (425.7 tonnes) and Mumbai (408.3 tonnes).

Despite multiple bans on plastic bags in the capital, including a recent NGT order that prohibited non-biodegradable plastic bags fewer than 50 microns in thickness, authorities are yet to fully clamp down on the menace.

While the bans resulted in an initial phase of heavy fines, the number came down considerably after a couple of months. According to a 2014 toxics link study on plastic waste, plastic was contributing directly to ground, air and water pollution and ending up at landfill sites, where it stayed for centuries as it does not decompose easily.

“Plastic bags defy any kind of attempt at disposal, be it through recycling, burning or land filling. Plastic bags, when dumped into rivers, streams and sea, contaminate the water, soil, marine life as well as the air we breathe. When plastic is burned, it releases a host of poisonous chemicals, including dioxin into the air,” the report said. It also highlighted how despite a 2012 ban on plastic bags in Delhi, they were still readily available and in use. A similar ban by the NGT in 2017 saw heavy fines of Rs 5,000 per violator in the first few months with around 30,000 kgs of bags being seized. However, a TOI analysis of popular markets found that the fines had dropped to a bare minimum with the ‘banned’ plastic being sold openly.

“Our study showed that in the initial two months of the ban, plastic usage fell drastically. However, poor implementation meant plastic bags returned to the market again. Fines are a big deterrent, but proper long-term planning is required,” said Priti Mahesh, chief programme coordinator at Toxics link.

Chitra Mukherjee of Chintan, an NGO that focuses on waste management, said waste pickers could only send plastic for recycling if it was segregated. “Currently, almost 90% of the waste is not getting recycled as it is not being segregated at the household level,” Mukherjee added.

CPCB, meanwhile, said producers are now being held accountable under the new solid waste management rules 2016, which introduced “extended producer responsibility” — a move that should ensure more plastic is recycled.

Quantity of garbage generated

Daily generation of garbage, 2000, 2015

See graphic, 'The quantity of garbage generated every day in seven leading cities of India, 2000, 2015' 

'The quantity of garbage generated every day in seven leading cities of India, 2000, 2015
From 12 November, 2017: The Times of India