SUSTAINABILITY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT VIS-À-VIS SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

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World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5 which is considered to be the primary channel that encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. On this Environment day I would like to bring attention on the most pertinent issue in relation to environment which is Management of Solid Waste.

Urban India is in danger of being buried in its own garbage. The dilemma of dealing with the increasing amount of solid waste in cities large and small has now reached crisis proportion. It is about 31.2% of the population that forms the total population of the urban area.[1] Unplanned urbanization and increasing population, booming economy, rise in the living standard of the community has accelerated the generation of solid waste in the developing country. Major chunk from the rural area is shifting to the urban area for better opportunities and modern facilities and that is resulting to the substantial rise in the solid waste. The sudden outburst of the population has challenged the municipal authorities in attributing desired result in managing the solid waste. “There are 53 cities in India with a million plus population, which together generate 86,000 TPD (31.5 million TPY) of solid waste at a per capita waste generation rate of 500 grams/day. The total solid waste generated in urban India is estimated to be 68.8 million TPY or 188,500 TPD.”[2]

Such a swift increase in the waste generation has negatively put strain on all the natural, budgetary, and infrastructural resources. Solid waste is referred to any garbage, refuse or any of the discarded material including the solid, semi-solid, and also the contained gaseous material that arises from domestic, community, industrial, Agricultural, commercial or human operations. The term rubbish, refuse, garbage, or trash is used interchangeably while taking about solid waste.

It is projected that the volume of the solid waste is going to increase from “64-72 million tonnes at present to 125 million tonnes by 2031.”[3] This figure of such projection in the solid waste is gigantic in number and its management requires serious attention. Waste management is now a global issue and its management is now a major concern of the ULBs in India.

Waste management involves waste collection, resource recovery, recycling, transportation, processing and disposal. In early days, before the initiation of industrial revolution, the constituents of the solid wastes consisted of domestic refuse and agricultural residue and which were of biodegradable in nature. Earlier, there was less population and much of fallow land; solid waste was disposed off conveniently. Solid waste was either dumped in the countryside or on the open ground or were to be dumped in pits covered with layers of earth. The waste being biodegradable in nature used to get decomposed and gets assimilated in soil.

          But, the current scenario is totally opposite in nature. In the modern era of development, industrialization has enhanced the scope of rising nature of solid waste by setting up of industries and also it has been accompanied with the agenda of consumerism. Necessarily, the changing habits and advancement in lifestyle has invited all kinds of waste to generate. Henceforth, the dimension of the challenge in managing the solid waste has been amplified. “The quantum and type of solid waste generated in any urban center are mainly from households, fruit and vegetable markets, slaughter houses, commercial areas including hotels, restaurants and office complexes; community places like hotels,  clubs, function halls and cinema halls, treated bio-medical waste, street-sweepings, construction and demolition debris.”

 An effective and efficient strategy for management of solid gets started with the proper segregation of the waste at the source of generation and by following the appropriate treatment procedure of the different components of waste and by this reducing the residual content of the waste that otherwise is sent to the landfill. The principles of the SWM is being better understood in the public domain, no Indian cities has yet achieved the holistic solution of the emerging challenges of the growing solid waste.

The attention of the ULBs is in a nascent stage while dealing with the matter of collection, transportation, processing and disposal of the solid waste. Even after looking at the consumer behavior pattern in the Indian cities measures have not been taken to seclude the biodegradable waste from the other waste at the very source of generation. Once the idea of segregation of “biodegradable waste” is achieved, through composting/bio-methanation processing of this waste can be conducted and that can help in reducing the cost of the transportation and also reduces the leachate and GHG emissions which emerge from the dumping mixed waste at the sites.

         Since, the current generation of waste is not being handled effectively, it is exacerbating problem. Ideally, the delivery and infrastructure mechanism of SWM is not planned and co-ordinated in an Efficacious manner. Unscientific disposal system of the solid waste is prevalent in the developing country. This results in the various health hazard and environment complications.

The waste generated can be further used in converting energy from the same. ‘Energy from waste’ has prominent role to play in dealing with the residual waste stream. WTE is now an essential component of a sustainable SWM programme. Old techniques of disposing the waste are carried out in the country which does not help either disposing the waste properly nor is it helping to generate the energy. Various new technology for processing of non-biodegradable waste into energy have emerged but the presence of varied waste in the absence of segregation causes several challenges which include air pollution by using  of these technologies.

An enforceable regulatory regime for such emission control is necessary for avoidance of air pollution that is caused by most of these technologies. Moreover,  an efficient conversion of WTE depends crucially on  the factor that whether the waste is of satisfactorily high calorific value, and it is to be noted that solid waste of India  because of high content of  biodegradable waste and also high recycling, falls much short of the threshold calorific value. WTE set up is the inviting opportunity to make better use from extracting energy from the waste.

Constitution of India through an Amendment[4] specific and direct provisions for the protection of the environment were inserted into the constitution thereby perhaps making the Indian constitution as the first constitution in the world to contain specific provisions for the protection and improvement of the environment. By the aforesaid provision it is very clear that it is the duty of the municipal bodies to take measures for potent management of the solid waste.

Indian Constitution ascertains the duty of the citizens to take proper care for preserving the environment.  Protection of the environment is regarded as the constitutional priority.  Hence, the fundamental duty imposed on the citizens with respect to environment intents to promote their participation in restructuring the society.

provide a reasonable framework to address the multiple challenges of municipal solid waste management in India. There is significant improvement over the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules (2000), which was the first time such rules were ever notified for Indian cities.[5] Strategic direction and funding by the Government of India through national missions such as JNNURM, AMRUT, Smart Cities and Swachh Bharat Mission have also created an environment in which there is more but by no means adequate focus on the problem. It is extremely important to translate the vision from the Rules and the Missions into an operational integrated strategy of solid waste management.

Now when we are moving on the path of development the complexity in the implementation of the SWM rules in the country is at extreme. The rules, constitutional provision and various plans are also to be discussed in details with the officials for bringing the clarity. Legal changes and notifications are not put in place in compliance with the SWM Rules (2016). The regulatory regime is not strengthened and its enforcement ensured. GOI need to provide a strategic leadership to nudge the state governments in creating an enabling environment for ULBs to fulfill the mandate of effective SWM.

In addition, the collection, transportation and disposal system followed in the country should be given importance while dealing with the solid waste. The untreated waste can be used to generate

energy. WTE can fetch significant monetary benefits that are: Profitability, Government Incentives and employment. While dealing in this research paper the various types, processes and policies are considered and explained.

Mahatma Gandhi rightly remarked “Nature provides adequate bounty to a needy man, but not for a greedy man.” Although the needs are very genuine but we have been very unkind to the environment which has resulted into the ecological imbalance. Hence, there is the urgent requirement to safeguard the environment.

SWM is one of the services where India has massive gap to fill. It is also imperative to advance and implement an ISWM approach, informal sector (rag-pickers), PPPs for its cost operative and sustainable management. There is crucial need to encourage such disposal techniques that has option for energy generation and also of resource recovery. Awareness towards safe disposal, PPP, and selection of Suitable technology in accordance to waste characteristics is significant. The approach should stretch on giving a fair state of the SWM scenario in India including major challenges faced in implementation of SWM rules and further there is utmost need come up with concrete solution in order to manage the solid waste for bringing sustainability in sustainable development

By-

Priyanka Singh

LLM(National Law University).

[1] Rajkumar Joshi and Sirajuddin Ahmed, ‘status and challenges of municipal solid waste management in India: a review’ (2016), 2: 1139434 <file:///c:/users/municipal%20waste%20management/h13.pdf > accessed 1 june 2020

[2] Ranjith Kharvel Annepu, Sustainable Soild Waste Management in India (2^nd edn, WTERT2010) 24

[3] Isher Judge Ahluwalia and Utkarsh Patel, ‘Solid Waste Management in India  an assessment of resource recovery and environmental impact’ (April 2018 ICRIER) <file:///c:/users/municipal%20waste%20management/working_paper_356.pdf> accessed  1 june 2020

[4] Constitution (42^nd Amendment) Act, 1976. Through this amendment Article 48A and Article 51A (g) were inserted into the constitution calling upon both the State and the citizens to protect and improve the natural environment.

[5]“Following a Public Interest Litigation filed in 1996 by Almitra Patel against the Union of India regarding management of waste in India’s cities [WP(c) 888], the Supreme Court issued an order setting up an Expert Committee to submit a Report on Sustainable Techniques of MSW Management. The recommendations of this Committee formed the basis for the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 which were notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India in 2000.”

About Post Author

PRIYANKA SINGH

[email protected]

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