SOME SUCCESSFUL MODELS
CAPITAL’S WASTED EFFORTS
How Delhi tried & failed to segregate waste
In 2004, 2005 and 2006, awareness programmes were run among school children, ragpickers, and home makers for waste segregation, but these proved to be futile
MCD introduced blue and green bins in 2005 for wet and dry waste. Total noncompliance resulted in rollback in 2011
In 2011, auto tipper facility to collect waste from households in over 200 wards was started. This ensured collection but not segregation Pune Several agencies have come up with the concept of ‘zero waste electoral wards’ in Pune. About 7,500 establishments in a ward provide nine tonnes of waste daily to waste pickers. Nearly three tonnes of segregated wet waste is sent to biogas plants; dry waste is recycled
Delhi NDMC works with Chintan to
include waste-pickers in doorstep
collection for 4,000 households in some NDMC areas and 25,000 households in East Delhi Municipal Corporation areas. Chintan also runs a waste recovery centre
Bangalore
Mayflower block residents in Brigade Millennium apartment in JP Nagar have started segregation at source last year. This was done in steps—giving residents plastic bags for segregated waste, and educating residents and housekeeping staff. Waste here is segregated into wet, dry (recyclable) and non-recyclable types. Wet waste is segregated into two types—edible by cattle and for compost Residents of a housing enclave near Yelahanka not only segregate waste into wet and dry but divide dry waste into 14 categories. Not a bit of the 950 kg waste generated every month goes to the landfill. It is either reusable or compostable
Mumbai BARC, Mumbai, has developed a technology to process biodegradable waste originating in kitchens, markets and abattoirs. This can be set up in every colony, and waste after segregation at source can be used
A TISS project encourages on-site segregation. It also sets up on-site biogas or composting facilities for wet waste, while non-biodegradable waste is transported directly to recycling units. Only a small amount of dry waste is transported to dumping grounds
WHERE THE WORLD STANDS
The Netherlands and Austria have the best waste management programme in Europe, according to a recent report by European Commission
Data released recently by Eurostat, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Sweden have eliminated almost all their landfill disposals through incineration, recycling and composting
In 2004, China became the world’s top waste generator. It will have to spend eight times more on waste disposal by 2020 and will require 1,400 new landfills
NDMC plans small-scale waste-to-energy plants
New Delhi: As part of its green initiative, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) plans to set up small-scale waste-to-energy plants in its localities. The first plant will be set up near Safdarjung Hospital.
At present, waste generated in NDMC areas—close to 250 metric tones daily— is sent to the waste-to-energy plant in Okhla. Due to high transportation cost and technical problems, often, the entire waste is not transported to the landfill site. These small-scale wasteto-energy plants will bring down the transportation cost and also help in effective waste management.
The energy generated from these plants will be used to meet the energy requirement of the neighbouring areas. “These plants don’t require much space. It can be set up on a 1,000 square metre plot. We have received expression of interest from six companies. We will soon float tender for the project,” .
According to the proposals received by the agency, one plant is likely to generate 40 MW of energy daily, . The average power consumption in NDMC area is 150 MW. Officials say that with the latest technology, it seems possible to generate maximum power with minimum waste. “If we are able to produce some electricity from waste in localities, it will help us meet the local requirement,”
At present, the civic agency has a waste-to-energy plant at Okhla which is managed by a private concessionaire. Officials say it is a large scale project where close to 1,500 metric tonnes of waste is processed everyday to generate power.
Apart from these smallscale waste-to-energy plants, the civic agency plans to set up organic waste management plants in all its major gardens.
STUMBLING BLOCK: Due to high transportation cost and technical problems, the whole waste doesn’t reach Okhla plant
THE WASTE LAND
People unaware, so no segregation
No Incentive For Sorting Garbage At Home; Multiplicity Of Authorities Compounds Problem
Almost eight years after the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) outsourced waste management, the civic agencies are still struggling to streamline the system. From installing GPS in trucks carrying waste to uploading pictures of dhalaos online, they have tried everything but without any results.
Poor monitoring, lack of infrastructure, accountability and awareness, and multiplicity of authorities are prime reasons for the failure of all the schemes introduced by the civic bodies ever since waste management was privatized in 2005. Private concessionaires claim they
didn’t get the “desired” assistance from these agencies. “The first P (Public) in PPP is missing in the project. It is only the private party’s responsibility to implement the project. For the success of door-to-door collections, waste segregation at source and awareness among people was crucial. But the civic agency didn’t do much,’’ .
Apple goes green, offers free recycling
Apple is offering free recycling of all its used products and vowing to power all of its stores, offices and data centres with renewable energy to reduce the pollution caused by its devices and online services.
The iPhone and iPad maker is detailing its efforts to cultivate a greener Apple Inc. in an environmental section on the company’s website that debuted Monday. The site highlights the ways that the company is increasing its reliance on alternative power sources and sending less electronic junk to landfills.
Apple had already been distributing gift cards at some of its 420 worldwide stores in exchange for iPhones and iPods still in good enough condition to be resold. Now, all of the company’s stores will recycle any Apple product at no charge. Gift cards won’t be handed out for recycled products deemed to have little or no resale value.
The offer covers a wide array of electronics that aren’t supposed to be dumped in landfills because of the toxins in them. In the past seven years alone, Apple has sold more than 1 billion iPhones, iPods, iPads and Mac computers. — AP
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