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TEAI AilD SAilIIARY

lndia's initiatives for decentralised
disposal of sanitary pads lack both in
planning and implementation
. .
: r,.. -
t'.
xi;.,
'ii.'
GO DIGIIAT
,.", Digital m0nit0ring 0f waste management

ffih can aid quick and accurate sharing of

information with all stakeholders

tilFoRitat wasrE co]LEcfloil

lndia's waste c0llection and segregati0n
plan cannot succeed unless they bring
the informal sector in its fold

DECEilIRAI.ISATIOil SUCCESS
0dishas Dhenkanal municipality shows
how to successfully decentralise waste
collection and processing

PtAilIIED DESIRUCTIOT{
Electronic companies making products
with short life is bad for customers and
the environment
E

DROWilED BY S!ilGI.E.USE PTASIIC

Despite multiple legislations in the past
two decades, lndia continues to struggle
with plastic pollution

A Down To Earth annud @

 WASTE

SANITARY
INCINERATION
The implementarion of decentralised incinerators to dispose of
sanitary waste leaves much to be desired
.i.'T!*
'-*l

t-
t\
F-;n$'.r-'.', ;\
lt )-''

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wB,lP t'r'
:'s
t
.;r!ttl'AnY -.1.- q ct, cr, {6.l
-- \\
iltBt( rT
in
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Wfffr-#1 .6a-
(1l$ lcll gll(
- -
-TrLts

SHAITSHREE TEWARI

population of3B6 million menstrrrating women in India generates about

2OO tonnes of sanitary napkin r.aste daily and 19.3 billion sanitary
napkins annually, assuming B6 per cent ofwomen use sanitary napkins -
I
-,:1.1
regularly at an average of eight sanitary napkins per month, says the
Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India (un,tr), a network oforganisation
working on menstrual hygiene in India. As per the National Familv
Heaith Survey, around 41.8 per cent of women between the age ofts and z+ use sanitary
napkins, while another 16.4 per cent use locally produced napkins. Most sanitary
waste is not biodegradable/compostable, and plastic is used as a primary rnaterial. The
unorganised methods of sanitary wastc management and weak collection, transportation,
and disposal networks in cities and v lagcs significantry impact the environment and
human health.

[!l State of tndia's Environnent 2022

 Waste management is an end-to-end process that includes In rural areas, where waste
e\'ery.thing, from waste generation and segregation to treatment
and disposal. Efficient disposal of menstrual q,aste necessitates
collection is less common,
source segregation at the $,aste generator level (see 'Segregate at sanitary waste is disposed of by
source'p106). bUrning Or ShallOW bUrial, WhiCh
In India, where aseparate collection of sanitarywaste has been
practised in onry a 1"., th" .;;;;;;,;;;;;;;;";"# pollutes the water bodies and
"iti"",
ol other public spaces is tlpically collected alongside drywaste or aif and Gan adyefsgly impaCt
mixed waste. Except for a fer.cities. such.as Karad and Pune ,n
\laharashtra. Jamshedpur in Cujarat. and PanaI In Uoa. where
bOth thg gnVifOnment and
iegregation systems have been implemented. slnitarl waste is human hgalth
primarily collected with dry or mixed waste from households,
and gets disposed of in landfills or dumpsites in an unscientific manner.
Since the local authorities manage solid waste management activities, different
methods of sanitary waste disposal have been adopted in different cities. Disposal
techniques also differ betu,cen rural and urban areas. In rural areas, where waste
rollection is Iess comrron, sanitary waste is disposed ofby burning or by shallow burial,
uhich pollutes the waterbodies and air, and can adversely impact both the environment
and human health. In urban areas, *,here a waste collection system is in place, the
.anitary waste is disposed of in a landfill or, if segregated, then disposed of using
centralised incinerators. At the community 1evel, sanitary r,r'aste may be segregated (in
:he case of community users and public rvashrooms), depending on management. Ifthe
''r aste is segregated, it can be disposed ofusing decentralised incinerators.

There is a dearth ofawareness and organised sanitarywaste disposal infrastructure;

:herefore, the disposal practices in rural and urban locatious vary greatly. In some
rarts of India, womcn dispose ofthe sanitary napkins or cloth in drains and potholes,
,r hereas others who are uncomfortable disposing of sanitary napkins in public flush

:hem in the toilets.

Over the past few years, many governmental entities like the Central Pollution
Control Board (cpcB), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Union
\Iinistry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, have been promoting sanitary waste

UTILISATION ESTIMATE
lndia usage of sanitary napkin stands at 1 billion a month

fxD=@
336 million
mcnstruating
i' onren in India
. Ln
. L
orh., n,.n,r1.,i,
\ \u,iln\ 1ln.
121 millitrn use
sanitary'pldS 12
1 billion
x I
I
billion Pads
Per year
tlatls

M
Per cycle
Per nr()nth

Soorce: Menstrual HYgiene

Alliance of lndia

A Down To Earth annual E

 WASTE

S.EGREGATE AT SOURGE
Emcrent disposar of menstruar
waste necessitates source
segregation at the waste generator
rever

tio

i1
I

Dumped in open
spaces and Wrapped in
water bodies or pouch or paper
flushed in drains and thrown in
and toilets dustbin along
with dry waste

.. ':
::! i.:
ll.L r
Centralised Waste to ....1
incineration Small-scale
resource decentralised I.lrl
facility or bio- technologies incinerator lLr,l
medical facility waste-to-energy
Source: Centre tor Science
an.l (t4anually or ir lL,,
Environment (urban) rnclnerators electrically
operated) rugh r

: +.o1
,,,ts ri
management and Menstrual
Hygiene_Mr anagement (r4nM) In In
r go\ernment ioitiatives National Guidelines, 2OI5.
are Drima aimed.at disposing orsanirary last cl
prererredn,,"th"d i" i;;l;;;";#:';:']11 napkins.
rhe
br the Ministr) or Drinkins water :t\Llnlcl
andsanitation' rh" .-;;;;;;;;iil"'-t'3^:]1t"0 -lvaste \ lLte s(
accelerated tn.in"ru,ion u
jt"j]i.r;*T :-"'"'o and the IuHu guidelines have
ini rat
Incineration i. p.."".;;;;;;- and lreat sanitarv
wastei
lrsplse - rr ing
converting it to ash.",;;;;;;;;;'hj.:rves bu.nins waste at a high tentperarure and
r)

-oiir""ji""i*tjin"o o.,o'l"rity Ibr disposing . trll<xr

as a favoured ,""t, niqr" ofsanitary waste
"u
'* ;; ; i ffi 'ilt 1.:1[to;:::
This r *as t e .
:tjJ,,.f; : l: ;:l *ll, ;*
o ta kes Standar
:loj
" ",i._ co1"-idered b",r'" tntlali
r.""i:":Ht [I::il]l,il:J;-TIT,1;e ","., *,'l,,ent disposar .rnl oth
anrl health hazards assoni"r^,1 .,*,,- there are certain
,,--'otll' Io*ever' enr ironmental
- CPCB !
,r," | fti::T:;,:,J;li:"::."
". " ",,a""i,,1::,:l: hroad sra nda rds to wh ich

Ell stare ot tdiat Environment 2022

 snall-scale incinerators must adhere, They
focus on the technical aspects ofsmall_scale
incinerators and also include thc tech"i"^f
uhich are covered in detail untier Bio_medical
*p"","
"f" lrl._,rr"ii*i*** Urcinerator,
Waste;.;;;;;;
45o/o
rrnu guideliues in India provide l'urther Rules, 2016. The UsE ROUTII{E WASTE
technical guidanie?. ii"rn".u,o., una
j;:1.y, ."jh:q" developed b1 the united N;.;;":;il"*;;; i",,0 ,.u,". However, o,1.. DISPOSAL METHOD/
thel do not delve into manv technical po.u-"t"... DUSTBIN
i;;;).;;'ih"t the technical
:l:"in:*i"n: :nd :tandards specified in rf;i;;il;" ;;";1,",,'ni,,,"
.rot enforceable. The classification uno, .n"."ro"",
and potintial ,*.in"ii,rr.'"i ,rcineralors
between the t$.o sets ofguidelines
mentione<l above.
The nanual fire-based incinerator addressed
var).
23o/o
in the lralr guidelines is similar to THROW AWAY II{ OPE
:he lorv-cost, locallv built incinerator_
under the cpcB guid;;;'Horvever, in SPACES, DRA| S,
:he guidelines, the prescribed standara. both RtvERS, WEt LS, t AKES,
tu. tt i*li.iJr-o'., ..larOn""",. The uarr
r.idelines further fbcus on electric inci"""uto... "r" H;.;;;;;, ROADSIDE
:echnical ele,rents for small-scale ,".,".a1, a set of
elect.i. in"in"ruto.r, iilji."r"J. "rf".,rg
r"ctors
,s a Iist ofpr.oducts available s,ch
iu th "an*
Given ihe
"u"*materiars
.anufactured liom "..Ja""",i,1:J]i.#l^::1H13,:":::lfl,l,ll"il,J,l;..u",
that adhe." r. o"ry i"*.ri"l#r*i*"r*"0
l5o/o
-n additio., unlike other co.su,rer. electronic "
"," DISPOSE BY BURNING

.ubjected to anytestingto
item", fJ".."".. ,rlie in "tandaras.
India arc not
confirm the str"d..,t
.nsure the follor.ing critical requirements ";;;;;;i;".ir,".ffi, *,n"rities must
before adopting a* in",r,"*o. rir.
: sanitary waste. The first is that.the inciner.ato;;;r;;;;;
at least
atp..lr*
8oo,C to
25o/o
r:iniurise smoke and odo.r. accorriing DISPOSE BY BURYING
to world ;;;il;;*;;;,;.n.s Department
:'Protcction ofthe Human En\ironment, _t]le
'
water sanitation and'iJeartils saia acarthcare
\te,Management. Ilotve.ver, the cpcs Guidelines
prescribe, a tcmperature is BoooC.
ud, emission control standar.ds stipulated fry tfri Srf ij
'.
ntu.st be follov-ed. Thircl, asl.t
#.1t" #urug"_".rt Rrt"".
gcnerated liom the decentralr""a
9o/o
THROW IN IOTLETS
' ir"-_"?.,itrrr'O.""""i'
-e disposedof lith limited contact lrith the err.ironment. (FLUSI{I[{G OR P'T
non-compliance rvith these emission standards can release r.ATRr E)
noxious gascs and
Ltncls such as diorins and firrans. At present, most
small and mcdium_scale
:ator options available in the market do not meet these minimurD Sourcer Menstrual Hygjene Man-
requirements agement, WaterAid, 2019
:.Llc limited conrpliance l,ith existing guidelines.
As a result, these decentralised
.-scale incinerators can be dctrimental to the environment
ancl human health.
-\lany states have issued tenders lbr tlecentralised incinerators
to be installed
: educational institutions, govcrnment offices and
hostels. Such iucinerators are
:rrchased either through tenders or directly from
nrr Several states,
ich as Goa and Maharashtra, have installetl incinerators "_rrru.k"tpiu"".
-,rough financial in eclucational institutions
assistance frour Rotaract Clubs or the corpo.ute
se"io.. tn famil Nadu
er.1,,oOO deceutraliscd incinerators have been p.opoa"d
to install in government
irouls drrring the 2Ol8-tg acarlernic r ear.
In I,dia, the'narket lbr decentralised incinerators has gro,rvn
significa,tly tl.ring
:idcli,es,2o15. last dccade. The procurcmerrt statistirs sho$ thatthe
rc
go;.._"";i,
n,apkins-_'fhe 'Dsumer ofdccentralised inci,erators. Ho*ever, the narket is expccted";r.,;;;;;;;ri
to shift to the
)ri,king water -:iyate sccto. as pri'ate organisations and complexes p"*rr^" a"*ri."ii""a
',ore
guidelines have ::cinerat rs to crcate awareness on menstrual htgiene manage,r"nt.
,. :..,ving dema,d a,d urarket Giu";;h;
dccentralised incinerators fu,.n"i""y.rru"t" airp""ut,
rmperature and t rc lbllowing set of maior crralrenges
'br n,ust be addressed belbre their use [;-r;Jil,'
rf sanitarY rvaste
L sanitar,\ \yaste
standards for d€centralised incinerators: The
'
thct'ccnt.alisctl
materials .sed to the
, htr,rful to incinerators a'ailable.n the celr (Go'ernment e-Marketplace)
'ranulhcture
- portar
* enient disposalt other e-matketplace are inconsistent, and some ofthe
^r'ry incinerators do not neet
n en'ir.nmentalt : crca guidclines._In tcrms of the crcn's guidelincs, rvhich
arc l"guny
i ,rvcver. non_cornpliance rvith it imposes no penaltr.or consequence. "rrfo."";;l;.
idtlds to t'hic}

A Down To Earth annual @

 WASTE

WHAT'S SAFE
I
:ii;:1IJ:T;#', '"ctices in lndia, as per Menstruar Hysiene Manaeement Nationar
tbr decen
ioeffectiv
UiISAFE
Ihrow them uowrapped
intr,,.,drlffi . Functio
common,
Drying, wrap in plastjc the burnir
bag/paper
Or-erloadir

l
Bury fltem for de,compostjng
harms the
Ihrow them in latrine/toilets

Bun it (rural areas and

leriurbar areas)
. Lack of a
SAFE might be c
Ites mainll
accidents r
addressed i
PERFORMAI{CE GAUGE
Lomp ances of small-scale
incinerator options against
standards . Variation
Type of ilcirerator : tlrc mar.li
'800'C lsh dirporal g[ideline
Emissiol control standards.
-:sed on itr
as per SWtu Rul€s
Z0r5 ':om techni
Earthen pot (fiatka)
incinerator Not [ompllant. Usually
mjxed :.r e demand

Lowrost"loellymadetncjnerator
-\t pr.cs,
No
Not.ompliant. UsuallV
mtxed rcinerator.
with soilor other solld
waste
liot compliant -.nging frol
Electrically-operated
incjnerat0rs Nolcompliant. UsualJy
l\4ost of the ayailable
,:e no budgr
No mlj(edwithsotlandother
models in the rnarket
incinerators -]e amount
solid waste do not
Source: Centre forscience comply with thes€ stafldards .rould presc
and Environment
::(incrator.
. Self.certification; As
a result of .lnsufficien
rncrrcrators in the nrarkct oi cnrnpliance. sereral
r"jll.t.":lt'l*tion
en\ ironmcn
clccentralised :.ritrictions
.tandards a nd gov".;;;;; "lri,
;;Jr;::":e
tally .usrainablc. rn the
abscnce t.,r :r.nds showt
o
are potentiary iaz".;;;:;"T#"":;#Hi :lil,;HT og i,"in".uto". ii,ii .:d tcchnolol
[:u".,.i
a Procurement process: --:nerally rnot
Ihe orr: ..lotted to rrar
tenders,or,ri'""rj)
rtonomrc aspecls and
d;;;; ;:#;:i:fiT": rarried out cirher rhrough
(rrr procrlrcmen+. political To manag
rr.ord_of_mo "T:::.,i.]'l. factors. lrsto manag(
or the agency ," ,,1;;;;;; ,;;';"-11'1Il'*:t ''* ,'at a .isnifica,trore in rhe seiccr ion
t ompliant decentralised incinerarors , )rrrntuuicati(
nor i.'"ft;;, ; ,;;;"ll1.,",.ll,Jl"tn"r are *cg .:llitar)
". lvaste
olack of technical guidance: :: terms of iD(
The incinerators installcd - rltcrtision of
ol the country hare fallcn irr variorrs part:.
into dis,:c-cenlralised
d:': to us:rs Iimited :.k to human
thc rnachincsand rh.l;;;.t;;;;;i^': technical
ttsers should .eceivc them eefore ins; ll''*',,.,'J i,ulo"*t" "a'" "'
srrflicienr ,""1:]::i
n ica r ass is ra, rco
cra tio r u n i rs.
r
r
rro;; ;; ; ;1 ; ].,11"::
o'acemcnt of incineri lf decentralisetl
bir;;:;;;'r=#tor: incinerator' a.e instailed
,"'"l,nilli:"'"t"
ritable ':o.,n.'o""il"t
heighr pipe is nor rong cnough ro
in
",.1,1:9 reach
""il;;;;;:J;"1.1-1"^'li"fz".,"",trf cmissions ente"ring the room.
'e Is a high risk
. Disposal of ash: Mo(i rt.---r-^r:- ,

soo.i. ii;",; il;;;;,T:i,'jll,;:1,,::l::*,"^ have a crrr-offremperarure

rrerorr
conl at rhc correct temperature'
l;l ht"" the ash u ill likel'
the :::'9'"'"'
cnvironmcnt 'tr;;;l';;;';stc ru I chernica ls tha
t could affect h u;;;il;it;
",0 t;;" ;;;"::'T
tLty no standardised
';,"' tcchniqrres for ash disposal

EEI State of lndia,s Environment

2022
 r
ional fbr incinerators, because of which
-decentralised it is disposecl of
ineffectively.
DAIA DIUE
a Functioning of incineratorst In P746
India, voltage fluctuations are
common, causing incomplete incineration
and irregularities in \ Bio-
b.r.1'.n, c),cle, putting the machine,s ."".^n d,r.Jili,y;;;j;: medical
t"
O.erloading also inrpacts the qualitl of the brrrning pro"";., waste
na rms thc perlormancc of decentralised incinerators.
;;',;;

a Latkof accountability: The price

ofthe incinerator includes a maintenance f.ee. ,which
rnight be charged lor a specific period based
on the cunt'acr;";;:.il';;;;;;;;.::
lces mainly covel the incinerator.s ser"rice
and repair ofdefective parts. However. an1
accidents at the inslallation site due to,nutrun"tioning;f-th"
addressed in the contract agreement,
illl,,".utor. u." not

a Variation in unit cost: Various

models of decentralised incinerators are

m in the market with a wide price range. The price available

or o a"""rtJi""a"incinerator varies
,r: size, capacity, energy source, technology
used, arrd other criteria. Apad
1.L_"1:: specifications, the cost of a decent.rhr"a ir,"in".uto"
[:i*"jJj*, i" d"t".rnir,",t by
At p.r'r.senl,,tfere
.rrcrncrJtor. a11 roughly 2.OoO sanitar;. rrapkin
rrrndsl5 6ru11u51" on the celr portal. ,uith
Ianging from around llo,ooo to around tg,oo,ooo.
pr.ices Ifyou do not burn sadtary
Since there
a-re no budget constraints on the
amount spent per incinerator,
waste at the correct
the amount spent varies li.om state to state temperature, the ash wilt likely
The gou".n-"rrt
sh-ould prescribe a price range to streamline
af.,",i"nairg f"; contair residues of heavy
lDclnetator.
metals afld harmful chemicats
rnsufficient budget alocation: Though there
Iecentralised
'rcstrictiolls on the amounL are no budset that could affect human health
spellt per incitrerator. p.o"ra.^"-n,
Le absence of t,ends showthat<t""""r..tir"i1,"i,"..,";"q,G;;;;;;kh: and the eflvironment
oerators that end technology systenr emission control and "a."
odour coot"ol
generally more expensive. and their procurement
may be fi-ia"a ar" to the budget
allotted to xaste management and.sanitation
for.procuring a"""ri..iir"a n"inerators.
her through To manage sanitary x.aste effectively, it is
critical ti aspects of
tical factors, waste management, beginning with continuous ".".ia"]'",rr".
ru" 1f"fo.*uiion, Education
the selection Communication), source segregation, proper waste and
collection and transportation, and
Lors are cPcB *i:."
:1i'^Y l^rdling.and disposat. Appropri"," pt.;ri;;,;;;;."nce
ln Terms ot lllctnerator to stundu"<t"
dcsign parametersand emissions, technical monitoring, and
supervision ofincineration systcms are all
required to tt,utit ao not pose a
i.arious parts risk to human health or the environment. I "rrrr." "y
:rstanding of
:ration units,

e installed in
rugh to reach
ithe room.

rature below
sh rvill likely
Luman health
ash disposal

A Down To Earth annual

@
 WASTE

r - -DIGITAL
MoNrrOnrxc
o:*j:11,:.:,,".,:1g,:,, *.r".
ailows quick drl.. easy
analysis and informatio., i . YuaL^ and sasy ctata
oa
snanng wrrh sra keholders

I
SHAIISHREE IEWAR!

ffi T'.;: :',T ";*:l"T;f t*;::::,:,lll ilTj!11;fi :::ffi : ::'Ji:':f ,.;,il:

succe:sruIy rnonit".irg,r,," automared upp.nu"h", rl,
*;r*'r";;;#f,;,fl:l::Iy
Digital monitorir ts crucial
sincc it allows u.' io anrlyse
and. most importan,ts data. rnake informcd dccirions_
"n r,'"a
^rpi["ij",:Y;;ili.'#:'#ffi;,::,:iij:]:l,,""i"r,oia","q,i"r!"nj;;.,i;i:::
- --6'"rrqLru, ur r'oras lvaste management
sector
will open
rttrl state of rndiat Ervironment
2022
new opportunities and potential for addressing the country,s increasing .\4.aste-related
difficultics. Utilising the potential of online-based data analysis, data managenent,
serwice providers, a network of stakeholders, and a variety of other resources
will aid in
dr.veloping a sustainable solrr lion.
The need for digitalisation in waste management operations goes beyond the
inlbrmation-technologr (IT) sphere. To ensure that waste is collected and
frocessed
appropriately, there is a necessity for automated digital technology systems. During
opcrations, srnart r.aste management will improve data quality and provide bettei.
insights for efficient waste management. According to the Swachh Survckshan 2O22
toolkit published by the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs, the urban local bodies
luLB) will receive an additional 270 marks if the ur.s,s daily/monthly progress excel
repofi is digitally linked with the Swachh Bharat Mission (sBM) portal rveeily and
all
the uLBt treatmenl and processing units, such as dry and wet wale processing
plants,
matedal recovery facility (MnF), sewage treatment plant (srr1, faecaisludge
t."ut_"r.rt
plant (FsTp), and others, are gco-tagged.

Digital intervention in waste management

Digital intervention can be done in several aspects ofwaste management, particularly
logistic-the organising, sched.ling and attendance of sanitatioi workers, a,d fleet
management (see "Technical support"). Digital tools can inprove the process
bystoring,

MYRIAD APPtICATIONS
Digital intervention can be done in many aspects of waste management, particularly
logistic

WEIGH BRIDGE
MONITORIiIG w0Rt(

a
ATTOCATION
OF STATF

15

MOBITE BASED
o
HELPTIiIE
APPTICATION
-ctTrzEI{s
CEiITRE FOR

'a'
.IIIT
c0rtEc 0N
VEHICTE ROUTE 'El'
sMART BINS

A Down To Earth arnual E

WAST E

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
and the c(
Technologies and mobile and web-based apps can be used to improve ground levelwaste collection, treatment and disposal
Digiti!
Digital Syst€m Process Digital transformation City rvaste frac
lnternet of Things (loT) Multiple devices c0nnected to the i.rternet, Digital sma.tbinswith digital display,weighifgsystemand
has deter:
Panaji, Goa
a sensor-basod rontainoraan aolleat data levelsensors,softwareforoptimisingloghtics. automatic
ard send il to a rentral unit. tailored m
Cloud computing Storing and proffssilg 0l sensor data and Real-time tracking and monito.irg of vehicles for 0ptimi5ing Bengaluru,
help nudg
cloud'based s0ftware solutions make ;t waste c0llecti0n and transpottation seruices. Karnataka prevention
easy to m0niior and optimise workflow. the impac
Data analytic processing and analysing data play a The waste management facilities with Programmable Saligao, Goa pleasing, a
significant role in wa5te manag€ment.This togic Conkoller (PLC)and Supervisory Controland Data The ar
enables local authorities to evaluatedata Arquisition (SCADA) mon itoring system ensure5 process the digitis
and adopt diflerent options for effediye elficiency and minimum manual operati0ns.
waste management.
efficient rl
Dr0ne based data collection and contour mappingof legacy
waste dumpsite.
of valuabl
future circ
SourcerCentre for Science and Environment

DESIRED OUTCOMES Advanta

The main determinants and constraints of the digitisation process L Accoun
s-takeholde
c0itSTxalt{Ts holding ev
.lnvestment cost -\ll waste
. Lack of digital understanding slakeholde
. Security issues ror techno
. Lack of digital infrastructure s'aste man
and ecosystem responsibil

ouTcoliE z. Gives
DETERMII{AI{TS . Service assurance c\?onenti.
. Urbanisation . Accountabilitv lDdia, the
. lncreasing waste quantum . lmproved collection and ofthe hour
otctlAr.rsaTl0t{ tt{ IltasTE
. Citizen expectations transportation lnanageme
IIIAI{AGEiIEilT SECTOR
. Efficient waste . Efficient waste management related inl
management system . Step towards circular economy
ioformatio
better unde
helps in wa
processing, analysing, and optimising the data. Information gathered throughout the
collecting plocess, such as task progress or incidents, can be monitored in real-time. L Efficien'
A digitally innovative integlated waste management system can ensurc the real-timr ud billing
monitoring ofthe waste management proccss. Global Positioning System (ePs), Radic rtakeholder
Frequency Identification(nrro), Global System for Mobile (csu) communications. tschnologie
Machine-to-Machine (rt9u) communication, and the Intcrnet of Things (ror Fl-rnent, u
technologies, as well as innovative mobile and wcb-based applications, can bc used tr, peper-baser
improve and smoothen the ground level mechanism lbr waste collection, processing. l.ill improv
and recycling. Waste management lacilities equipped with a Programmable Logic
Controller (rr,c) and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (sc,roa) monitoring a Efficien
system can be monitored and operated from a centralised control station to ensur€ laDagemer
process efficiency and minimum manual oper.ations. Eucks, but l
\ryaste management with proper Information and Communications Technolog, m human I
(rcr) system can ensure efficient monitoring and assessment, citizcn's complaints can bt t€ integraj
handled rvith precise details, readily availabiliq. of analytical repots for making inlbrmec rtcovery in a
decisions, bins and vehicles novement can be tracked, the route can be optimised fo: rorkers har
efficicnt collection and transportation of wa^ste. Last but not lca.st, rcr can identifi. the gap
in Solid Waste Managemcnt by directly connecting to the central Enterprisc Resourct l. Ensures
Planning (onr) system, which ensures seamless communication between the head olfict ranagemen

@State of lndia's Environment 2022

 ,

rnt and disposal and thc collection vehicles

or bins

Iil
I Panaji, Goa
Digi r isai ion arso cnahre.,,",,:i:];i:':::.:::urce rran ninB sr.srem

::':';"';1liI["]#;,Hi"]:.1"::l n ;'; .i;Jl,ii:'il:,:"::: J# J: :il]l;:

:lT:'r",,, L" i;;r,il;,;ii"iil ;:l:i:I;ffi; iili!?ili,ll;lI.
informa,ion can

g Eengallru, ,Xi;T:#::lifllfll:*ff ;iX:;*,':nr i1-\Le

r,,r wasre *a,i,i,, l.
."ill",Xj,l!; l:Tlt:
management practires. inrersecring
t(arnataka
',.,.n,ion prog.ui."::ilil::;| wirh \\asre
',,e rnrpact o, the environmcn,. waste collectio, systern
Sllio'nj"tstound
I rumandintenrn
ca, ,ninimi5e
Saligao, Goa l"T]ns. an9 t".r I ion\' \pace .c(l.ir;renr.
aesrhericarl
'r;;;;;';:r;i
rue authorrt,es can deliver
c, services.to their clients
:h.e disitised ;;i:;;;ffi;Y::lT' Digital technolosie.
and city through
.fficienr rvasrcn.,"";r;;;;,':;",:fu'1s"'n"nt .o?" p.o.i." u
.r'ralrrable,,,",",,"iilr'*r",r"";;;n.satcrandnroretransparent.ilhhettersorrrcins
'rrr,rrc circurar
rce and Environment
econ;;;',";"';"'],;"".1'r,Tl,:J'* uselul linli ," "ir*. ";".J;.''i;'i
I advantages of digital tran
r. accountabitity: rn lndia. management in tndia
J leholder" an.i
-,:1""3:j^':j:waste
Irranasernenr is managed
and operared by direrse
| ' ta
;";";;;;;i ;."1:(
roJdinsevcrvon""";.;;;,i;;i";::l:s A' a r"esuh' it is csserriial to simptiry
I the process bv

I : l*:: :: ":i::#JJi l?:I:J':[: ::], ili."il::,h

ro u gh d isi,ar i";;*;;, #
::t,:#"1;*:;i:il[:::i]liflifl.'1.!;1:T"1, il: a3'.r.'-'"'tecrrnorosies
nore erricient waste
promise
,..,o,.,r,r,[, *r,ii";:;:;;ffiii?lf"i,.;:;t::::l:I.,,* ",; managernertsystem,saferand
z. Givesinrormeor*r..*,"*r;,-:':"":," more transparent, with
in ,h. o,,:t-t-1, j":"'
\ponenriar incr.ease considering lhe better
ol waste generated i, soufcang of yaluabte matefials
t**"r,,lntilont"
.rrlia..rhe a,*,,"r
thc hour. ,",*,,'"",""i,"ii-:'.:li:",:lfrIf:T;'IJ;"";T: in wasti
-r
-iinagement much
-irared inforinarion
effective and
garhered n "'"]:n'
bv
"ont'"tting *u.i"- "tr"ii",io,-or"
useful liflk to other sectors
in a

,:il,l*"{+1,",'{[,
..rps rn waste management
rrffi xr n1;;,ll#Hif n[illi[,",,::T:::::ru' "iinoiiv
plannrng, strategisation
roushout the and implementation.
n rcal-time.
the real-time l;.'JliiilillTiJ:l"'.ff:i*r':j Ihe
process ordoc,,men
ration
{ces), Radio ':'rtieholders arc in\ol'"d
in
the wa'te ,,,"'"*;;';;;''"t;";"lilIJI:lHi:
rrunications. '' chnologies irctra" "ur.uil]n nlanaFomert activities.
iae"n r irui'uili-i:" '1" I "'" I-hc digiral
ihings (ror) '*nrcnt. user interlhces r., binsand conlaincrs. digital bllrirg';nl
tn be used to ""-.1l,lLlil"
,p".ur."a oanrrnt.;;;;;;:.,"#""tca rton wilh consumers. The
transirion from
. pl.ocessing. :ll improve 0,""""" in the \.\asre manasemenr
sector
mable Logic "m"i"".', "'illl?j.'f,iffi;:'ins
nronitoring 1. Efficient monitoring:
,n to ensure The ur d;eit"1 tnonitoring can irnprorc
,rasement system s elticicucv thc \\a\te
r-",1f uras tlpi, al11 hi
ruks. lrut rrr",
Technologl
ailts
rr r.rran r;rbou ".".r"*'i'"a'i'"*'lo,tt'l"nut"ncy.
r rcnders rrre ,."1:,"h 1'1lfl'" 'loi o""t=.t'i""'.1
and unreliable. Aurhoriries
,iI::fiilH'I:::
can be ,' intcgrared aigirur-.v.i",,',
og iufbrmed ,,reryinadata_drir,cnman - '::f"":l':
i;11,1:; d* "q6r ,urrr(rIoI. procelsing. antl
can use
ct.F o',
matcrial
rtimiscd for ''k"." hr, l"-.. iclc t rack ing sr stem. tlre
,,.,1" rahle "''" '"n sanitation
tifi'the gap.. " ",11.'ur1,
and
""^tl,ut" attentive to their wot.k.
!e Rcsource i. Ensures transparency
and tr
heacl olfice rna.qcment sector Lack of transpr.ency in
iri,ra".. tt," t"rt"jl"billty:
acccssible sr,lrrtions for the rvaste
rnarraging rn aste. fheusage

A Down To Earth annual

@
WASTE
:

of digital platforms will assist local authorities in detcrmining where, when' and rvhat
type of waste is generated and linking it to the appropriate tleatment and processil1g
fr"ility. th" tt".ttparency and traceability allow citizens to check the location oftheir
door-to-door garbage collection vehicle'
The transparency will allorv the authorities to make the payments to the contractors
based on the number of trips and amount of w'aste collected and transported'
Contractors will be more attentive tolyards serrice as beiter serl'ice is the only rT'ay to
get higher PaYments'

6. Develop a value chain: In many'places of India, the value ofwaste is undercstimated.

It is critical to add yalue to the u'aste and properly close the loop between recyclers and
waste generators. The digitisation of waste management q'ill reduce the demand and
supply gap, hence improving the value chain The development of a value chain *'ill
allow authorities to make the best use ofwaste as a resource'

Strategised lEc activitiesl In the waste management sector, behavioural change

7.
plays a considerable role; therefore, it is crucial to inculcate it in citizens by enforcin;:
fines, u'hich can be implemented using a mobile-based application' The softrvare can
generate a digital report that shows how manytimes a person has been fined for litterinE
or failing to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, as well as how manl
people from a specilic vvaLd or zone have been fined, providing
Digital platfOfms played a authorities rvith information about citizen behaviour and allowing
them to implement targeted rnc initiatives i, those areas'
significant role to sustain
businesses and services during 8. Reducing costs: Waste management operations are a challenging
logistical task that entails much manual labour and, as a result
the pandemic. On the other high labour expenses. Digitisation can lower these costs while als'
hand, the problems faced bY increasing employmeut opportunities in higher-value segnrents o:
waste management system. Designated route plans and cr'
the government agencies theenable vehicles to make the waste management system searnless
have underlined the need to lowering fuel and vehicle operation and management costs.
digitise the COUntfy'S WaSte Digital platlbrms played a significant role to sustain businesse,

managgmgnE - and services durine the pandemic. On the other hand, the problemr
tu""a u1'tt'" go"""tn,,,"nt agencies have underlined the need tt
digitise the country's waste management. It demonstrates that '
digital tralsformation in the wasie management sector is essential and indispensable
from rvaste collection and transpofiation to management and monitoring'
Todal', there is an urgent need to restructure the system b]r implementing sigrifican:
improvements in $'aste management using digital technology, rvhich rT'ould necessaril'
demand capital investment much beyond Drunicipal agencies' current budgetary capacitr
Additional linances may need to be sought 1i'om external sources to provide the fun&
required to integrate digital technology. Privatisation is one of the potential sources ci
fi,r1ding a1d helps lorver the financial burden on local authorities. Additionally, state anc
central {inancial institutions should bc engaged to raise the necessary fuDds. At presen:
Iimited or no user {ees are being recoveled for this essential service, and coDrplete cor
recovery uray not be possible, at least in the beginning Hence, soft loans can be arrange:
to finance the necessary capital expenditure. While digital transformation necessitate'
investment, it also provides scalable efficiencies' The $'aste management sector is i:
itsillitialstageofdevelopment.Theoppoltunitiesandconsequencesofitsdigita
transformation are still emerging and can be structured l

E State of lndia's Environment 2022

a

INFORMAL
'Sfhy
INTEGRATION
the integration of the informal sector in solid waste
management is a m ust

RICIIA SINGH

\7*ffi#*tffitrfr*t*lu*'*
per capita generation ranging between O.gO kg per day to O.4E kg per day.
The volume ofwaste
is projected to reach 165 million tonnes by 2o3r and 436 million tonnes by 2o5o, if existi,g
policies, programmes and management strategies are not adequately addressed.
It is importart to note that the eDgagement offormal waste management s)rstem remains
low in the cities, primarily due to insufficient funds, low sectora.l development and lack ofknow_
how about sustainable waste management businesses. Hence, in many developing countries,
including Indi4 waste collection and material recycling activities are majorly performed by the

A Down To Earth annual El

l
 WASTE

informal r-a-ste sector.. Various studies hal,c shosrl that in developing couutrics
the informa-
sector's cont.ib.tion in reco\,'ery ofmaterials Iiont m.nicipal',aste is,ruch higher
tha, tha:
of fonnal vr aste rtra agentenl serviccs.
Thc informal sector may rcfer to individuals, families, and private sector (micro-
entetprises in solid waste rnanagement sen ices, u,hose acti\ities are not organisrL
-l'orking
sponsoled, financed, contlactcd, r'ecoflnised, managed, truxed or reported upop by goyernmelt.-
arrthorities. Informal stakeholders are waste-pickers in dumpsites aDd at communal1\-asi.
collectioD poinLs, iufonlal uaste-collectors, itincrant \,!,aste-bu\crs, snralljunlshop
dealers an :
big $'aste godou'n-oulers. As per the Solid Waste Mauagenent Rule" (sql), zot6. .irrlb.,-
$-aste collectors" includes individuals, associations or $,aste-traderc rl'ho
are inyolved i:
sorting, sale ard purcha^se ofrecl'clable natelials. swllr 9o16 define a "rvaste picker,,
as a perso--.
infomrally engaged in the collection and recor,'ery ofreusable and recyclable
solid wa-ste lior.
thc source of$'aste generation to sale of wmte to re(yclers dilectly or through
intemrediaie.
The informal sectol is often not officially approved, recognised anrl
acknowlidged, besides tl.
fact that they potentially contribute to lyaste recl.cling practices
of cities b1, coll-ecting, sortin:
processing storiug and trading tvaste materials in the lecycliug
value chain.
while exact Iigules fol the number of people involved inihis r.ork are difiicult to
,,Role con:.
bv, and size of infomral sector in waste management_a reviclr,,,, a paper publishe:
io lltaste and Resource Managem.ent it 2013, estimates that the informal waste econon-..
emplo)'s about o.5-9 Per cent ofthe urbau population worldrvide. Assuming
an urbanisatit,-

rhe inrormar recycrins sector ;1"'?il: iiliJHl"'#ll: il?jl,l"l*:.;H#Xi; :1ffi ;

reduces the eost,n"r*:lllLl" ::Jl:"i:til","?,:,fii:;;::j,".?ffii;":il$,ffi$?"*1t."_:
treatment and disposal of solid ,ili;i;;i";;in u'aste management. wastc-pickers alone acco.r:
waste by extracting recyclables lbr o l per cent of Indiat ulban workforce.
berore the mixed waste is ..""ij;.T:.];TlJ::li:1il:Tl::ff:::};;?1il:"iilij,ilil:
subigcted to any spgcific the mixed u'astc is subiectcd to arry specific treatrn'ent or trapliazarri--
dumped iuto the landfills. rhe
treatmanf or hrrr*rrr,,lrr
treatment n,, haphazardly :1:il.:::^,'lt:,ll: ':ldlills-
T,he informal
inrortttal sector is the backbone,-
backborre

dumped into the landrili :[ffi::li;::[:;"iX,Ji""il'ii.l,i"'. :li:;l'i.

contlibrrtes in reducingthe econornic burdcn ".Ji"ll:Xl;[:
ofurbarr loq.ll bndics. I
instance, tlle Bmllat Bcngaluru Mahanagara Palike (nrllr) becaDrc
the first municipalih..-
the collntry to legisier ua.le-pickets arrd cataloguc scrap dealers. lf qc
assunrc thai. ori --
a\erage.70kgofrrastcispickedrrpb1.asinglerlaste_pickerinthecitldaih.tlreqrrarLih.
g.a-ste
diverted {iom landfills to lra-ste-pickers u,,ould be to,667l tonnes per an
num (considerin :
that organic \aste is 6o pcrcent; dry l'aste is 30 per ce[t; and inet lraste is to per-ce1t
oftL
u,'aste mirture).__&s reported bl-a 2014 study conducted bl.Hasiru Dala, a Beugalunr_ba-.c:
non-profit, near\ 'tr,2o0 registercd $.a.ste-pickers sar.e the citr about {2.3 cr
or.e annually, $-hrr--
rvould othenrise hare becn an addition to the BBMp,s budgcted {4SO
crore.

Least rewarding job

The informal sectot'lives in close proximiry to dumpsites ard
u,orks under unhr,gienic an:
unhealthv conditions. OItcn. the rT'orkers havc no access to drinking
water or putrlic toilel,
They do not harc appropriate personal protecti\c equipment (ppr)
sluch as glorcs, gumboo:.
and aprons. Due to the poorliving and ro'orking conditious, malmrtr.itio'n, anaemia anc
tuber.culosis ar.e cornmon among them.
Waste-pickers are potentially erposcd to a wide rauge ofoccupational hazards.
communi:
rvaste bins and dumpsites act as breeding grounds lbr various bacterial
and r-iral diserLses. .\.
a result, $aste-pickeri often face gastrointestinal ailments. They
have to segrcgate recyclablt:
liom mixed waste. At times, they handle sanitary waste, domestic hazlard"ous \,!'aste an:
horrsehold biomedical wa.ste with bare hands, which rnay cause r,'arious
infections. Infectior:.

@state of tndia's Environment 2022

 I I I T r
rc inlilrn.Ial SWaCH MODEL
r than that \n initiative oJ.Pune Municipal Corporation and Kagad Kach patra Kashtakari panchayat, a
:rade union of informal waste-pickers, this model employs some 3,OOO women who collect
,r (micro- ,,iaste from households for a fee, sort it and drop off non-recyclabies at city-run
feeder points
otgirniscd. -
!eurmcnt&
unal \ya.str
P rop€rties cover€d (All) 840,000 / 120,000
.lealels ani
i. inlbnrra slum proFrti€s (overed (sub-set) 165,000 / 230,000

nrtlvecl ii: Iotal percentage coyer€d 70

a.( n perso[ Iotal waste handled 1,450 tonnes per day (TP D) / 1,950 lpD
.r astc fi'on:
0i!erted to Recy(ling 220 Tons per day
rlediaries
s€gregation 98 per cent
besitles th.
rg. sorling *aste-pickers 3,500

It to com.
5 Yeatt
publishet
I d m ini5trative expense5 t3.75crore{no^profit)
'r'L'()llollli <11 .79 ctore

b,rnisatio: :quipment {2 rrore {7 rrore

ilLrlatecl a: ;lum subsidy (ll0 per household per morth) 12.4 crore {@10070) 15.5 tr (Actual)
.l pcl ccn: jotal expe[diture
{8.15 crore 130.29 crore
-a(ls to a::
Jterfee paid to waste-pi(kers (approximate) {60 crore
r olking i: {210(rore
le accotrt:
Anrual 5 Years
rd in th, r voided trarsportati0n cost (tZ,2OO per tonne * 220 TpD) {17rrore t73(rore
,lcs lrelirr.
le0ided waste proc€ssirg(ost ({g0O * 220IpD} {4 crore
plrtzardl {17 cr0re
!rlary costs reduced R22,OOO.35OO * tz)
kbone c' 192 crore ll80 crore
-otal
L tcfnts r ' Savings (at (urr€nt coverage) {113 crore 1470 crore
ror-n1()usl :rntractor based alternativ€ 1180-290 crore perannum {825-1,400 crore
, rclics. Fr '
:e: Harshad Barde, Direclor, Swarh, pune)
.ipirlih'i:
tilt. on it:
n:rntitr', ' --r also caused by their contact lvith human and animal excretq bodily fluids arld dead animals.
rsiclcdr: --re1' also get cut by sharp objects, raggedmetal edges and broken glass in the mi,red waste.
ent ()1tlr, It is widely recognised that the inibrmal sector engaged in u,Lte collection and sorting
rnr-bit.sa ::.rrie-s out the most labour-intensive ad least rerardi,gjob of recovering
recyclable materials
Ih.lhi: -: rm unsegregated wa^ste. Despite their
crucial role, inforn-nl wa^ste_workers continue to
:€ subjected to systemic marginalisation, economically as well a^s socially. They
are treated
:-. dirty and unwanted elements of socief, and they have to deal with
exploitative social
r:ha'io,r. while the wages and living conditions ofdifferent strata ofinlbnnar waste-workers
itnic ar ::rrer greatly, a majority ofthem (street waste-pickers) work and live in hazardous
conditions.
ic toilct. ,-rer'!"pically lack acccss to sanitarv and hcalthcare facilitics. Further, child labour is quite
Itnlbo('',. ::elalent and life expectancy is low. In addition, waste-pickers are not covered under any
.nria ar: -
.'rcur legislation, As a result, they do not benefit from social secru.ity and medical insurance
-eemes. There is a dire need to initiate policy action for their social and econornic r.rpliftment,
dtnruni:
Bengaluru municipality: a story of change
.rrlablt. :+ngalum became the Iint municipaliq, to set up DryWa-ste Collection Centers (owccs)in the
.1StO al: r'-untry, Dwccs are an important element ofdecentralised waste manageurent in Bengalurrr,
nti'(tioL
":rere the req,clable matcrials are segregated processed, and resold to recycling industries.

A Dowo To Earth annual ftl

 WASTE

Though the concept was modelled

after the neighbourhood recycling
principles of u ase hicrarchr. centres, it is ba^sed on the
to out in pra(ticc tf," rt ."" n
the neighbourhood levcl owccs iacilitate r_ ."Ai"", .".r,.i" una ."rr"_ u,
thc colleclion and buy-hack ofiil
local residents. contro.f rna *^t"-*n"i rrry rra5re f|6111
**O
., OllT-' -1
waste-workers into the operations They help integrate infonnal
9ealers.
p"oao""o. .opo^rb,ity"fi
thrrs serving as the corncrsronc
;i;iillr:fi: ::::::,i,.T;i::JTff :.#ffi:,,:T":##ii
profit' The administrarion and
ro,. rh" t.ipi" botto- t*;i;;;;;;:p"rpt". pt-"r ona
partners. Of the 92 centers,
nranagemcnt of each owccrs
iicirilil-#;;,* Dara or. its
lg are ru; b,
has
.,"**Hi*rJ*;iT*ilrhTfl::*fl:.#Tft
have rnan6gsd 1q ...ate 0.16 per cent ofthem, as
#'{,Iill#,,,ffi frt,i
per Harisu Dul" u.r,r,,rl ."port".
owccs managed bo divctt ovcr rn 201g, the
nearlv, xz tnnr,e.orpiai;"";J;;ffiH;
2020. thc) colected nearty 5.5o8 ro randfirs. In
ofpaper collected by owccs ,ue.e
tonnes orrr*r," **l i.,.r"ol,,gl;i;t:lf. rL" qr"" riti".
,o b" ,,OO, ,orrrr"", ,,Or_S ,orrn". uia ,,55I tonnes
"stimut"d
in 9018, 2Ot9 and gogo respectively.

Succ€ss of-pune,s women_driven

SWaCH model
The Kagad Kach patra Kashtakari parrchayat
(rxpxr)_a trade union of intbrmal
pickers and waste_buyers in uaste_
?une and pr_oJCii'"ln*"0 *^,t
There is an urgent need for r""u
identity in zol!. l*."" l. .:",*
:i ",",.,'_::.-:11::fpationar 0q"",
a waste'picker wetfare taw :iffi#;:: {pMCF-the nrsr \uch
rn:;il"fljffi'l,i,f,'"T"ration
that provides for mandatory ioaol. *r"" i* over 9.ooo menrbers. ,io nFr ..,,,-
identity card", #il#ffiil1ifr;if.llH#i}l:I iI
"";;;;;;i:
;:U:ff l.ltl;
for collection and segregation; .*.""ou"",io.,,",.x"'lllf,ilnH:?":1:*:providedoor-to-door
_ protective s""r;
basic necessities rike water and
r,,i'iri,ii,
;:.ll:::::;Jg;;;#ilf;:ilffi[:T1il1',.::l?"11#i,t
;##Iff,T,:H:ii;1[xJ::.?:1::.*,:ilxi$iT:;y:l*:r;
san itation; and hearth insurance I

lJ:il* X,,:IH,J,I
,;l
[*#i**i**l# {,ff :il,l}if I
corJecti-on_cqu i pn,e n, iJff [:ili :: :ifJl f,#;, l:il:l;.,r, _lm;Iililffi |
transparency, accountau
b,, .J;onship ..0 *.rr""
with citizens
A way forward
"m"i"""f,
";it"[tili"lT I
There is lack oi clcar and comprehensive
laws zLnd policies to protect rhe
pickers in India. There is an ofrr.lste-
u.qent ,r"cd to iianre and ,,,,rf"r,lri.".r,,,iiir"n
'ights
rraste_pickr_
thern into
;l'il:'ill"lH:Tl"':';::':[*][:li':s 'h;;;;i;';;;;#ent chain rrrr
corectio,r.
.srsresati"". il
;;r.;*,
;::"1""i#1ff ]"::;:lll,,:ilt"I::,;,;i J,,Ti:i:
liiT',LTXft'ffi;T:'lil,,,Tli1iTl"'i"'ra'"r"""ri"i"*l;;iliffil:':..'"e.rheror,
u"a
"on,l,u"ii.o
;il;;i#ft:T;I^T:"llnl'q t' ".'r to use the designated collectioi:
segregatio,or recycr.ir",.' in" .i.,".ffi
prcker organisations-rvhich
,ili1il,fl .T::[flrf ;H.J.ii.; ;l?.,**::
"-,rrrt,;;;.", rffi;.
is also meutioned iuihe
arain, and empower the rvaste-pickers.
,ilre is a need t(
,""ritlt:1t*i:"a rr" ao* i" desig.ing ar
.n"#J-,ilTi,,11il:-."",H1.T.r::;:;T:Tilt:fl
fhcitities. There shoutd be provisio,
,r,
[,df
ot cn;,;"il:;::.:-_i::"?.1:,",l
n]o **]m*;ffi
promotrng " " r.,,.r, *, n, # ;i,:ilJ il [o.,*- *.ll lll i,l,,ll;l:?J ll,*i: :[:: llitl
n
recl cling but also mirimise
the ,r"ea or
tcchnorogies-incineration and landfillifir,rr" ".,r""gy-il#n" "ro"il*, o*r**.
'"*a.u,-"a"i'*i" -".#Ir,, n"**rr. .
ItU State of tndia,s Ehvironment
2022
 ry
bascd onthc
nd reuse-zrt
' \\ iLstc lion-l
irte infonnal
DECENTRALISED
rrt c\tended
ed currentll',
:. planet and
STASTE MANAGEMENT
A self-sustainable women self-help group_driven solid
l Dirla or its waste
. Each ccntre management model of Odisha,s Dhenkanal municipality
ortc$. Givcr rl.
il Bengaluru
. lr1 2018, the
'l lardfills. In
he quantitics
L I.J.)l tonnes

omlal waste-
d rvas formed
rjoint project
ihe first such

of thour are
s. srvacn has
door-to-door
h household), i'r I
fueder poiuts.
\'Iembers are
rc, u'hich also
. .11
il vioxr
arail benefits.
heir children.
rniforms and
e countingfor
npo\!emlenl

Ihts of i,\'aste-
r 1\aste-picker
SUBHAS!SH PARIDA
nt chain. The
s to waste for
right to basic henkanal. a town and a municipality in Dhenkanal
ance. The role
district of Odisha,
successfully processes, through decentralised
units, a.ll of lt" zc;s;;;r."
Lted collectiou of-waste generated daily. Thc Dhenkanal municipalif
a ciq' for the has inr"lr;J;;;",
self-help groups fbrmed under the National
ip \,ith rvaste.
iivelihooa Ui*Jiir.
Urban
rcc (information, education and communication),
capariry b"rfii"g,
re is a need to wa^ste processing, and revenue generation activities. "Jta
i designing aa Before the introduction of decentralised iofla
rple, involving -u"," _"rugement, the Dhenkanal
municipaliq, used conventional methods for solid waste
.telid
mn".g"';";i. rL" aoor-to_door
collection was poor. The situation was bettcr in some
,of nelgrrl"i"i..a. l. trre main tor.n
but waste was fouud scattered in most of the wards. The
was taken care of
irnagement by the urban local bodies, (ur,rs,) non_compartmentalised".ll""ii;;
vehicle fleet. Citizens were
east unaware of source segregation and as a-result, there
was very tittte source segregation
nt hicrarch\'. obserued throughout the ciry. The mixed waste
w* *ff"","J'""i"siricycles, pushcarts,

A Down To Eanh anrual

@
 WASTE
I
aDd one tipper durnped in the WASTE COMPOSITION IN DHENKANAL DHENI
durnping yard. Garbage bins Wet waste is the bulk of the waste generated M0ney sl
provided by the municipality in f Wet waste IDrywaste I Domestic hazards 20.
urost residential and commercial I Sanitary waste !i: C&D waste E-waste
areas gradually became garbage o.oo2 0.5 0.or
18,

vr.rlnerable points due to improper 16,

and irregular waste collection. v l4.i

There *,as no monitoring system
available t'ith ur,s to monitor
=or 12.(

the day-to-day activities on = 10,{

Solid Waste Management. Due
to the unavailability of waste 3 8,(

processing lacilities, all the o,L

collected wastes \vere routed to 4,0

the Banjhakusuma, Mahisapat
2,0
dumpsite. Approximately 17-18
tonnes of muuicipal solid waste
was collected and dumped at the
site, The informal rag pickers
collected the inorganic debris in
an unhealthy atmosphere at the
Sourc€: Dhenkanal rnLnicipality
SEttING RATES durnpsite, resulting in health source: Dhenki
OF RECYCTABLE diseases. The dumpsite 'was also
INORGANIC not scientifically managed, resulting in the burning of the clumped waste. Leachate
WASTE PER KG tagged rvil
also created lots ofproblems duc to the uncoutrolletl dumping ofrvaste.
to the imn
Dhenkanal nunicipality, betbre the introduction of decentralised solid u,aste
the sanital
PLASTIC managernent, was spending on an average of t2O lakh per month tou,ards the
reporting
<10 conve,tional solid waste rlanagenent ,rethods, rvithin which the spent the ,raxinu,r
amount being spent on salaries (see ,Dhenkanal municipality,s expenditure..., ptZt).
Due to thc unavailability of partitioned vehicles, most of the rvaste collection and
segregated
place. Curr
itsjurisdic
transpotation took place using the tractors oDly. The municipality,s income li.om the
swlr hcad was negligible compared to expeuditule. There rvas ,rn .eg.rlar duur_to_door
Recovery I
The mr

<s collection, no fine mechanisms, no by-lats, and no processing oftlie waste. Whatever
the municipality rvas spending torvatds swn u,as frolr his fund and the fund provided
by the Housing and Urban Development (E&uD) department.
adequate k
happen sm
governmen
andjourna
GLASS Story of change
II July 2o19, the Government of Odisha took a paradigm step to\ir'ards inplementing
<3 decentralised $.aste management and lnacle it mandatorv lbr all u+ ur,ss. In line
rvith
the same principle, the H&uD departrnent also shar.ed a Standard Operating procedure
How the s
-\ll the san
biometric a
(sop) to all the ur,es of Odisha to be considered as a guidcline io
,1"u"'iop ,ariou. collection ot
ITI ETAL decentralized r.aste management units.
is collected

<3 Dhenkanal rnunicipality became the lir.st ur,s in Odisha to construct and oper.ate
Material Recovery facility and took the initiative to make it succcssful. According to
a
the governrnent sot, the urunicipality arranged a meeting rvith all the local women
to monitor l
The segr
organic.was
sell'-help group (snc) lbr their conse,t to be a part ofthis initiati'e. The agreed
sucs For effectivt
RUBBER u'ere tlained by ur,r officials about thcir. rcsponsibilities and tasks. The meurbers
of (in Banama
<10 the sHG \\ent to each household and taught horl,to segr.e[iatc the waste fiom the
source
along rvith its benefits. To strcngthen the door-to-dooi collection, the urunicipalitl.
also procured some mechanised partitioncd vehicles that are battcry_operated,
the town) ar
to verily wh
and ,\fter seconc
partitioDs were made in the existing vehicles. The battery_operated vehicles (rovs)
arc to bits of 9.:
PLASTIC CTF RY driven bv the mcmber of snc for door-to-door collection, for which tr.aining has been
solution (pre

<6 ilnparted to interested suc meurbers. A route chart for all the vehicles lr,as prepared,
and sanitation workers (named swachh sathi) responsible for thc wastc collectiou
\,!,ere
contains bac
regular intel

S[l State of tnd,. r i- , '.nmenl 2022

KANAT
-ated 3:HX'fr,Tl,.,I|ri:iJ5'r',*,'r"ry;:,TIf,1I3[.'#5?,i:'.g*iJ?f,.::II"Tf
hazards lH,l,y,f;:]r,aNAGEMENr
iIe
18,00,000

16,00,000

' 14,00,000

i p,oo,ooo

.: 10,00,000

3 8,00,000 o o o
o
o o € o
6,00.000 t\
€ q I
€- t
!t €
I t\ o
N I rt
4,00,000 € o\ €
2,00,000

tebruary2019 March20ts Aprril20l9 May2019

Month
I Expenditure towards SW[,4 I Expenditure towards incentives,/salary
:r -rce: Dhenkanal municipality

Leachate : rgged rvith a vehicle. The

srvachha sathi also infouns
any other sanitation problems
irl l.aste lH;iT[l1':,iliiTll,".i;:: ::l''","",.;; ;;;',i,ilpliir.,r" ro, -oni.o.i,g
ards the
tarirnunr
.pn.ti,,g.'o,,cumpli'a;;;:';".,..1;:,,.Jjf"T:
qregated astc is lhen
j$.rI:::lri""j#illH*i:il:
ta ken to the resp..ti"" fin"if
.. pl9l). 'n
.acc. currentty, iiid, *;";; ,#;l
the Dhenkanal municip.tity
tion and o p.o"...-i.ng;fiil;:i"r_.ff::#}l:::
thc
i'rrrrD . ::H:".*::iiliilTiiffil"*:::yt;; i;;;;.;fft :lilXt "") o,a ru..".i.l
-to-doo r
ihatcver ,.r.". _,,;;;;";;;;Iff ;i:T:..:",Ifi J,:do T,1i]1T::::11", .,"".' tr," *o_"n
rrqtrateknowlcdgetothehou:eholdr"",t^--".,..-],,',:":''"'"'programs to gire
rrovicled .ppen srrroothly. awu."n"r" rolid w-aste rnarrajenrent. To
make it
wete conducted fbr senior citir"nr,
_ , crn,rent "nn,J]l^llt.domesri.
"rilli"ir,-f"""] iril,pargns
--rembers'LaxmiPujaassociations,bar""r."i";i;;.;
"orr"".*J
-d.journalists.
rr. ntin- {ow the system works
rnL u it l:
r'd ur,
' ,lli.l:lllllill#.,1:LJ;1"#,*r"ir assigned rocarities in the
,.
mornins, rvhere
r.Lr-iotr- nrove aloug uith the tagserl u"t i"t"i ru. ih"
r, .tion nr',,u*" iro;*a",,Jili"Ii"J
.:orecte<i*r;;;.;;ffi ;."";1;i,"iti.;:T."",ilTi:111::t:..?","1;_;mm
,l)rl at, nr_onitor the source scgregatio
'r1ing t, acttvity.
r rrc segregated n
aste is then tra nsportcd fo
() lf: -:rnic rrasre is rrans,orlod the respective decenf ralised
",.
to Mccr white and facility (the
J su r;. : offeciire waste processirg.
r".r;;,i;;;;,;;;;,rJi.1oo,*"0 ,n r^o.r.
lrr-s r:
the Dhenkanal . r,i.,o"l,ar-f,"r'-llir,,","O Iive,ccs
I'Til'i'l3ii:::;Y:l'Ti::.T::r"k,,t K"th;;;'i; ,,'I i'lliili'"" roca'|iries of
- iprriit.
,,i. en ' :: : {:;l;*: f; :t111 : ry!l::i: T ;:il:t';lll Hm :;lrl
:'-'*:f l' :

,. b,:L': r*l;1iniifi*illfu ::r,l!:J:fi :r3]x;u[",H;**il:,1

tralr
it \\ (,:.
Li _,ui,," r,."i".iu, *r,ffid: :::::11j,,".ii:'"r]fr*Tlf.l. #l"":l:lllT,j:",j:T
.,,rar inrer'ars fbr proper nrixing
and
"",.;,;;;:;;;';;;;J;i;.;,,,", w.orks in a

A Down to Eanh annual

@
 WASTE

DHENKANAT MUNICIPATITY'S EXPENDITURE AFTER DECENTRALISED WASTE MANAGEMENT DHI

Before decentralised waste management, the municipality spent l2O lakh per
month-five times of what it spends now The r

2,00,000

1,50,000

o o
o o
q o
q o o o
1,00,000 o
(,\ o o o o
o o oo o
o o o
o o
o o q q
ao
€ o- oo q q <t e.
€ o\ o
€
o !t
!t a0
<t + €
!t
to ]n
<t
50,000 +

February20l9 Marclr 2019 April2019 Ma\/ 2019 lune 2019 July2019

Month
I on c0llection & transportation I tvtaintenance ofvehicles I [/CC & [/RF* operation & maintenance I lncentives
Source: Dhenkanalmunicipalityi.MCC: Micro Com posting Centre; MRF: MaterialRecovery facility

batch It'cding svstcnr, rvhctc cvcrl clal''s uaste is 1cd to diffcrcnt tubs, and after +. time
dals, the decomposed matelials al c taken out frorl the tnbs and sun-dlicd. Whcn th. fowi
ntate al is dn, it is siclcd into pieces smallcl than ,l,lnm, which are ptrcked rnti sol,- &rp(
as organic conlpost (called "Mo Khata") 1bI t2O pcr kg at otrtlcts created by Dhenkani. rastt
municiptlity, itt a tinc whnc most states strugglc to sell thc \\-astc at cvcn of{5 pcr k: tfe a
At NIlill, thc scgrcgated irorganic rraste is furthcr marually seglegated int
rcclclablc and noD-r'ecyclable rnatclials. The municipalitl fixes the ratcs for scllin: ma
various recyclablc natcrials oulv ;rftcr ir\.cstigatitrg the local markct clcntands.']'h, fhe l

nou-plastic Iecvclab]c materials are gcncrally solcl in thc local market to the anthoris. bs"a
luttqd itLtlus through lbltnal agtccmcnt aftcr plopcl rvcighing. The rcvcnuc {itrl tl . tq
sirle of thcsc matctials is distributcd .rmong the menbcrs of thc strc appointed ti ' Lcr
(l{)ol to-door. to collection ofthc'taggcd rrards and managcment ofthe unr. rF!
'fhc nou-r'eo'clable nratcrials are stored insidc tl.rc thcility. Dhenkanal Municipali: Jthr
has nadc ar1 agrccmcrlt u ith licokalt Tcchlolog-v Plt Ltd, as pcr rvlrich thc compa:: Eki
collccts lrSO tonnes of all t1'pcs of lcclclable plastic u,aste and non-recl,clab- *oi
matcri:Ils clcrv oronth. Ecokatt Tcchnolog) Pvt l-td has an agreernent $,ith ocr, I Dd:: TI
l,td, Rajgangpur. 'l'hc non-r'r:cyclable \.aste collcctcd liom the rtnr of Dhenkan-. Elc
tuunicipalitl is se'nt to ocl- Irdia Ltd to be used as Relirsed Derivcd !-ucl (nor). blE
Non-rcclclable plastic \\,astc is tlso proccssctl to rnakc rvc paver blocks. Iu tl: fd,
netLbv aLcas of Dhcnkanal ruunicipalitv, thcrc is a high dernaDd 1or thcsc bloc.- f&
uscd fil-ruaking roads and platlorrus. Thcsc blocks arc a good substitute frrr cemc:-
conclete pavcr blocks.'flrey nre cost-cffcctive and durable as colnpared to concrr: -ni
Lq
bloclis. N{ission Shakti, a state govelnment initiatir.c "for cmpo\yering womcn throrr.:' Et
Pronlotior of \\roDrcD Sclf Hclp Gloups" mcmbcrs ciury out thc wholc opcration. I EE
the ven bcginning, the nunicipality impalted the sHc group training to operate a:: *s
rnaintain thc tacilitl,, rvhich the Dhcnkanal municipalitl constructs. The par.er bloc. Its
are sold to thc local co1'ltractois, and the lcvcnue generatcd liom sclling thcsc ntatcria rtr
is tlistributccl anong suc mernbers. Thc rnunicipalitv at its o\\,n cost onl"v supplics t: rir
lau matelials lor making thc pavcr blocks. *o1
Dhcnkanal Mtrnicipality, on irveragc, spends around t,3.8 lakh per month in t:
rl)atraEctrrent of solid \,astc. Bclbrc intr.oducing dcccrrtralised \{aste urarirgcrrr.
practicc, thc municipalitl spent an treragc of tqO lrkh per month, r,r,hich lvas li

ll:'i$ State of lndia's Environment 2022

-
I.IENT DHENKANAL MUNICIPALITY'S EARNINGS AFTER DECENTRALISED
WASTE MANAGEMENT
ds now The revenue generated from the units is sufficient to meet the requirements
of operation ind-minig;mini oiirre tacilities
16,00,000
I From MCC*f From MRF* I User fees collected
14,00,000

12,00,000

10,00,000

8,00,000
t\
t\ o
.ri
tto O N
6,00,000
o
o
rn
o
o o o
<t
I
4,00,000 o !o
l\r- {- 6
+
o N ra
6 lrt o
€
CO

2,00,000 o
6
t\ ra
t
[2019

February2019 March2019 April2019 ItTay2019 lune 2019 July 2019

llncentives
Month
:0urce: Dhenkanalmunicipatity; *MCC: [,licro Composting Centrei MRF: Materiat Recovery
Facitity

:r(l il1lcr' ! rimcs of rrhat is spcnds norv. The total expenditure incurrcd by the
municipalit),
:. \\'hcn tl :D wastc managemeut (u.hich iDcluded solid tvaste collection,
transportation, and
, rl arrd so -lisposal) is less than that ol thc current spcnding of ihc entire city on deccntralised
l)hclktl .\aste rnanagcment. Hence, the adoption ofdecentraliscd
$,aste manageme[t r.cduces
r , l)cl r- :he additional expenditurcs ofthc ur_s and r,cry effectivelv helps
managc solid u,astc.
-eted in:
tirl sclli: - 'iiat has Rr$rked
:IL ds. I i ihe Dhenkanal nunicipality has realised that to change the behar.iour. of
citizcns
;rrrthori., : r\\'ards sourcc sefiregation, it is necessarv to crcate a\varencss.
uDdcr.this initiative.
liorn t:
rL' rcl have empanclled $'omcn scu (wsucs) fo. comm..ication, The inr.olvenrent of
r,rintcd t :re lvscus has been a vcry successf . Duc to the rigor.ous door_to_door
campaign
: gauised by the srvachha sathis, there
has becn a remarkable cha,gc in the behaviour
lttticilttl:' r'the citizcns, rvho no.rv have star.ted giving segregatecl lvaste to u,aite
collector_s tlaily,
r ( ollll)iI: ::aking the process morc manageable and time-saving. The aesthctics
.aac\(liti ofthc citv have
ro improved a Iot since littering hns rcciuccd.
IIr(l. ID( 'l he sHc mcmbers r.ho har.dl-l had ilcone
nor.r1,ork antl carn in the s.ivlr sector to
)ht nLrrr'
'rke thcir cit'clean. The snc members a.e also handcd o'c. thc ovcralr slvlr in the
.

Ir r ). ',r n, *'here they

drive the sovs and collcct thc rvastc from cach ho.schold. In linc *,ith
. k'. In t :'ttthe dccentraliscd lncilities-llcc and r,rnp-a.e arso by the me,rbcrs
..e bloi . 'aintained
thc sncs. Though initiallv to strcngthcn the u.hole s;-stem ofdccentraliscd swu, thc
rnicipality ,sed to pay all the nenrrrcrs of the ssc assot.iatcrl r'ith
ulr. but whcn
:: sl.stern startcd firnctioning, the rcve.ue gencrated from the units are suflicic.t to
lr thr'()ll: :!'t thc requiremcnts of operation and manrgcnrcnt oI the tacility. Thc additional
riLti()n. ,)mc Dccts the salar-v rcquirements ofthc snc
membcrs, naking thc trhole systen
:jrIittc.: .:-sustainablc. As the incentiye gocs to the rvonrn rnembcr ofthe ihmilv,
tlt"y .p"rrd
,r r r' blr,. - : sanle on their livclihood impror-ement. Cycles have bcen prolided to the feuralc
rrlirtcrl .kers to hclp thcm becomc independcnt as far as transjor.tation is concerncd
:nlrlir'.: : also to help them reach thc rvork location on timc. l)rctkanal municipalitl,
- , P.or.ides be.elits such as safetl, gear, health checkup
iacilities, cducation and
::th in : :rsportation lacilitics firnded by the H*uo depaltmcnt. Additional iuccntives have
ll,l !f Ill l . ' bcen given to those slr,accha sathis.r.ho per1brm
bettcr.. As ofdate, 70 per ccnt cll
lr ua. '' 'lic grie'ance on swu has bee. r'cduced d.c to the direct i,volvemcnt of s.r.,accha

A Down To Earth annual EEI

WASTE

ROLE OF WOMEN SEIF.HEIP GROUPS IN DHENKANAL'S

DECENTRALISED SOTID WASTE MANAGEMENT:

Sensitise all Demonstrate the Sensitise Iocal markeis/ Create awareness Must explain and
households in source segregatlon schools/institutions/ regarding sensitise people aboLrt
the lo.ality to before the family parks regarding various method micro composting and
do the source members in the source segreBation ofcomposting provide handholding
segregation at premises of the house and demonstrate preferably nicro support and guide the
household level \irhile colleciing the th€ same for better compostirg in the people for undertaking
itself garbage understanding locality l\,lCC facilities

Karmis u.ith the people.

The Banjhakusuma Mahisapat dumpsite, l'here approximttel) 89,OoO tunnes,
legacy l.aste vvas 11ing, is nos' undergoing a bio-capping process, rvhich the Dhcnkati.,
munic\ralitf is uutleltaking using its ou-n resources. The clumpsitc is sprcad or.er'!.' \
hectares, of1\'hich 7o per cent is bio-capped. Once the rvhole place is cappecl, thc san:.
land shall be used to sct up a c&D wastc managcmc[t p]ant. The municipalitl' has al-
der,elopcd a park named Udyan Kunj on an old dumpsite. The plantation inside tl:.
park has grorvn using the compost produced from the ucc onlt I
lntegration of transgender group in the 5wM initiative
Dhenkanal municipality have engaged a grorqr of sir tlansgendcrs in one ofthe rrn,
facilities. The group is solely responsible tbr secondtrry segregation and sclling,'
the recyclable materials to the potential recyclcrs. The revenue generated is cqual.
distributed among them.
After the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 't\,as passed in 20t,
rvhich prohibited the discrimination against transgcndcr pcrsors, the Dhenkan.
nlunicipalit)', u,ith a mission to giye recognition aud social acceptancc to this grou:
approached the community and requested it to be a part of the ne$' solid \1'as::
management initiative. Thcy rlcrc traiued by the municipal oflicials about seconda:
seglegation ofthc inorganic rvaste and the municipality also helped thcm to channe)i.
the selling ofthe segregatcd \\'aste. Nou', each member in the group is earrning thrcc :
fbur times more than they used to, and, most inpoftantly, they are considcred s$'ac.'
sathis in the municipality.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE OF DHENKANAT

MUNICIPALITY,S DECENTRALISED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT:
. Quantification of waste generation and assessment of human resources
. Engagement of women self help group as swachchh sathi and supervisors
. Assessment of vehicles and preparation of route maps
. Management of micro composting centres ([ICC) and material recovery
facility (tIRF)
. Procurement of machineries for and MRF through GeM portal
[,1CC
. lnformation, education and communication (lEc) campaign

mnl state ol lndia's Environment 2022

 I

UTB
\,1€ -f,9*iar,n
ti

.dp
*
l I
I

* Jact
: resujt ofirtroducing the dece
. int.n,r,"";;;;'h:;.;;::i:T.l]:"1:oiid rvaslq-m262g'ment e, the women sHG
which gave.them a scope to
)(tc to rigoro.s
a*"i" l'" ."'^lII' be independent.
"i;: :i|:":"s campaigns' a huge behaviour change is
nnrJns tr,"
'"a
iu pcr cent. The"iJ";"
t:Fregatiotr uf u aste iucrea\ed
rn r;io;i;;r':"::
r,
to ss pe.Teni

:,,',ll;lni{:t+::;;i1iilll.l"i:*:::x;tTrlfl
\\ ealth centre because
ili",.'.',T;.1T;,;:
:. xe to DaDage the ,r,rr, " thel n;u generate cnough
"*r.
;.:ticability
'.,:,.i,*:::::::ff;,Htl'.'#:9-lr:*.ar municipariq, the cities
srrourd start
'.,,1i."d pro""..i,ls, '"S':* tion' segregated collect ion
:;il*;: sal of incrt
'"ger 'cirlc. tle rrrr o.ieparrn ^"f '";id;;;;; i;;i;[i::',il1:[
r
[ *;;:: l*, yJi
:

:rr of\aste can gcD".o,"

#il= ilix, iTr *"f :::tr"l I *i *i""*ij;
rnatetials by develftirg a
r:rarket, all the
."u",rlX.'o.u'

A Down To Earth annual

]!
WASTE m II
m thc so'

PLANNE,D :rctional, t
.r'tith tl
'icc.'fhc
OBSOLE,SCENCE, rarticulzrt'
,n ing irrtl
s'otk-l
Companies intentionally making products with short lifespan is .
rh
t'case ir't I
dangerous since electronics industry is rapidly growing .ut e. Indi
,l e of doll

: -owth tr
: Nationr
', tirr clcc
ria has iu
nlponn(
\ hantlf
:restic 1rt'
.rnrc (t't
: curcnta]
ncs aucl
- lcctlotti
: rlti\e ()t
It is inte
rr r.), itL
'-llrllel' {

.iHARP RI
: :duction (

SIDDHARTH GHANSHYAM SINGH

o you feel that your clectlonic products are not lasting like they used
to? What ifI tcll you that they are designed not to last loDg? Enter the . :.oo.ooo
concept of planned obsolescence.
Planned obsolescence is a trick used by companics to turn you into a
repeat customer, with ol without your knowledge. The idea ofplanned
obsolcscencc is not new; it was first written about in 1$28 by the
Amcdcan markcting pioneer Justus George Frederick. He stated that it was nccessaly to
induce people to buy an ever increasing varicty ofthings, not in order to use thcm but to
activaie comncrce and discard them after a shoft period. Produccrs and manufacturers
ofelectronics use planned obsolesccnce to increase coDsumcrisrn in a variety oflr'ays.
As far as hardware is concerned, thc tricks used by companics are to use inferior
parts
designed to decrcase the li{e of a pro<luct to 2-3 years' Some products are inherently
designedtomakerepairdillcrrltorcveninrpossible,lbr.instancetlreuseofgluesthat
make opening up the casc non-viable or use ofspecial screws that cannot be opencd with
the help ofa universal screw driver.
Irrtermsofsoftwarc,productsaredesignedtolosefunctionalitybyexclrrdingthcm

EE State of lndia's Environment 2022

t re
)m thc solt\\,are/ opcr.ating systcrrs upgr-ildes. .fhis kecps yrur der.ice physicalll,
nctional, br.rt does not sLlppor.t applications that ale proglamnecl to be compatible
:rlr T'ith the latcst set of upg.acles, fbrci,g 1.o. to discard vo,r firlly f.,ctional
r icc. The concept of planued obsolescence, s,hich leads
to an incrcasc iD e_wastc.
' pa.tic.larly dangerous today becausc electronics is the rvorld's lar.gest antl ihstest
- lving industry and is incrcasingll finding applications in all sectols ofthe cconomy.
ilh rvork-frour,horle becoming the norm clur.ing the pandemic, therc has bcen a huge
ireasc in thc nunbcr of pcople u ho havc iur-ested in a ne\\, gadget Ibr rvork or. fbr
rure. India's sharc in p;lobal hardlar.e clcctlonics production is about B per cent. Thc
:.Lle of domestic clectronics pr.otluction in India,s cup is 2.:l pcr cent.

, rowth trajectory
:r Nationitl Policl'on Electronics (Nrl) zoI9, envisions positioniug India as a global
b lbr electronics system desiglr antl manulhctur.ing. 1he electr.oriics production
iu
tl,go,t 66 crore in 201.tr-15 to lj,3j,55O crore in 2O7g_2O at
.lia hirs increascd 1i'om
rnrpound aDnuitl gro$th rirte of 2g per. ccut (sce .Shar.p rise,,),
,\ handlirl of schcmes ha.ye bcen introcluccd in Npr. 2019 aimccl at boosting thc
:rlcstic ploductior ofclcctronics ir India. These include pr.oductionlinketl incentivc
:(,rue (pr,r), u.hich cxtends tur incentivc of 4-fi per ccnt to cligiblc companies
on
rcrrrental sa]c's (over base 1,car 2O1g-2O) of rlanufactured goocls, including mobilc
,nes and spccifietl clcctronic components. Schcme fbr promotion
of manufacturing
:iectlonic coDlponents ancl semiconductors (sl_t:cs) rvhich provicles a linancial
.,ntive of 95 pcr cent on capit;rl expenditurc
for thc itlentificd list ofelcctlonic gootls.
It is interestiuli to rrcte that thc Ministry of Elcctronics ancl Information tcchDolog_
-rr,-), idc.tilics se'en dillerent catcgor.ies in its production prolile that i,clutle:
r.Lrmer electronics, iudustlial clectronics, coll)puter harthvare, mobilc phoncs,

!HARP RISE
: :duction of electronics has risen by a compounded annual rate of 23 per cent between 2014-15
and 2019-20
o
€
o
o t6
\D .o
o
5,00.000
.o { 3-e
o\ 5-B
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4,00,000 o\
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0
Production lmports Exports

Profiles

I 2014-15 a 2015-16 a2orc-fi I 2017-18 2 018-19 a 2019-20

::: MeITY 2020'2l Annual report

A Down To Earth annual E

 WAST E

MOBILE GROWTH .i,.,

ln lndia the ownership of mobile phones in the third quarter of 2o2o was much higher than
any other digital device :):llll

Mobole phone (any type) -,.r(lr.

Smartphone :t: irr

rl l l
Laptop or desktop computer . I,) i
..:.i,
Smartwatch or wristband
'-rh\
Tabletdevice
iii p;rr
: )i \r
TV streaming stirk or devi[e .tr t.. I
- Drt.
Non-smatphone mobile phone
: rLt rlL
'.1,,r'r
Games console
. ..ct I
Smart home devire
, Illltl
tiLta|1
Virtualreality devi[e
'11\utl
I ilr.
rrrPlr
40 60 80 100
l.rrto1.
Share of internet (o/o) I rLl)l
11"1
Source: Statista 2021
:, tlr:
i\\ pJ
.. t. I)L
strategic electronics, clcctronic components and light cnlitting diode produ.- , rr i litr
Electronic waste, on the contrary', is broadll. dividccl into tu.o catcgories, listing a tr : . ' . lllll
of 21 electrical and clectronic equipment (rlr) as pcr the schedule t of thc E_rlr- , ii,lt
Management Rules 2O16- Thesc includes information-tcchnologl. equiplnent i
:..lt i,
:
consumer electlonic gootls. . ::tt f\.
One of the key concerns in the electronics rvith respect to li,astc management :: iull t
mobile phones. India has become the second largest mobile phone manufacturi:
trr lr lL
nation in terns ofvolume. India is also the rvorld,s second largcst srnart phoue ,,r.Lr
Domestic production of mobile phones in India has gone up from 6O million unit. "
:,,hlr
2014-15 to 33O million units in 9019-90, the year when the don.restic production
Itili.
mobile phones was more than the domestic demand. In India the ownership of mob . :,,rlLr,
phones in the third quarter of 2o9O .w-as ntuch hip;hcr than any othcr digital der.ice
: .;r nt
"Mobile grou.th").
itti\ t.
Mobile phones, unlike any other orr have a shorter life. This means that ther.
:,nt.
discardcd more often as compared to other EtrE. One part ofthe problenr is consun
l1L r.
who are easily persuaded that the device that are currentlv usint is not as gootl as
... th,
latest one. We can agree that in the last decade and a half, the average life ofa
phone has gone dorvn b1' approximatclr. five timcs.

Shorter lifespan
The shorter lifespan of many consumer electronics comes at a steep
cost. A 2Ot8 study b1'the McMaster University in Hamilton has fouDd that S.=
95 pct cent of carbon foot print is not caused by the usc of the device but rathc: :
production. Changing devices frequentlv will have an exponcntially huge impact
the carbon footprints.
A 9OI7 Greenpeace usA report on grecner electronics says this about p

@ state ol tndia's Environment 2022

 I

,,Faced rvith market saturation for theil devices in many countries,

bsolesccnce
,rrnpanies across the sector have increasingly changed the design, of their
products
r a rvay that accelerates the replacement cycle b1, making thern diflicult to sen'ice or
found
,pg"u;", .hort",.,ing the useftrliife ofotherrvise functional devices"' Greenpeace
,',oi umo,rg +o best:selling gadgets, it u'as difficult or impossible
to replace commonly
',ili,rg palis, s,,,ch as the battery or displaf in nearly 7o per cent ltalsonotedatrend
Apple and
,',',oriqLc nnd Samsung toluartl rnakiirg phones less rcpairable; efforts by
- ,n1l to blo"k cnvironmental siandards to encoulaBe the dcsign of del-ices that are
.isier to repair, upgrade and disassemble for recycling; and said tablets and laptops
..ig,', by Mi".osod often require damaging the device to access it-fot repairs'
Reparability has never been much of a concern fol a country like I ndia Traditionally'
Lot of s-hat we used rvas repaired time aud again before it cottld
not be repaired any
. :rther'. Unfbrtunately, this tradition is getting fbrgotten in the nerver generation of
usumers, due to the lifesq'te changes, higher tlisposable incoures and changes
in the
index'
r)aluct design that are made to last ior shofter time and with a poor reparabiliry
\4orc than consuners, the companies manufacturing thesc products for
.rolescence and government policies who let these companies introduce such
products
. the market ale a bigger probleur. Modem times call for
mpetent policies that are relevant to the issues faced by Some products are inherently
e consumers and the envitonment.
For instance, some countries have introduced policies designed tO make fepaif diffic1lt Of
-.rrt inlprove thc "Right to Repair" for Th-e gven impossiblg, fOf inStanCg the
from 2091'
^consumers'
.' European U nion rules. enteri.g in force .a glues ..,rriah makes anr - up
r.rIra< opening
'.1uire appliance ,ru,,.,iu"t,,".. tJ'ffii; use of -i.^- which
';;;;;;;
. .".iod of ro y"ur.. sweden has slashed ihe repui.ing tax." the ease non-viable or use of special

which canrot be opened with

:T::il::'in'i,:".T:'""" i::1:T:T:l:'J[:1'H:lI screws
rd*cts put on tlle market to hat'e a lubel indicuting the the help of a universal screw
driver
'. rlrability index ofthe product.
Onc morc aspect tllat can be exploled for ensuring
:...nelisation oi end-oflife products to the right destination is the introduction
products to
'.'lcctlonics as a setvice rath;r than as a product Companies rent out
r.umers. rl'ho use them for the desired period of time and can return them back
:he manufacturer. who can then rent it to other consurners l,ho may be interested
' :he product. This solves two problens, the supply chain problem as the product
rile rvorkiug or after its end oflife is reaching the manufacturer)' and the electronic
-.te problcm-as the secondary rarv ntaterials
from the end oflife electronic product
,. be utilised in manufacturing a nev'product' This u'ill also encourage brands to
.kc ploducts u.ith a higher reparability index and optimise their processes to
include
'ndary tnal.erials lrom utban mitres,
l,,ccniirisiltg for not buying clectronics frequeutly or think before they
"o,.,..,mers
and incentivising businesses for making robust productsthat have a longer
mean
_,
ice life u.ill go u lo,-,g .,uuy in dealing with the issue of electronic waste lvhich is
::ned as the fastest gro\ving stream ofwastc, globalll-' r

A Down To Earth annual EE

WASTE

ADDE,D
COMPLICATION
COVID-19 has substantially increased the biomedical
waste load on the already strained infrastrucaure

-- .r

SIDDHARTH GHANSHYAM SINGH

he covrD-Ig panden-ric has added a nes, st1eam of waste, r,r,hich, due to

its inherent potcntial to spread infections, has been put in the basket of 1
biomedical waste. "Biomedical u'aste mean any waste, rl,hich is generated I
during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of humau beings or '[
animals or research activities pertaining thereto or in the procluctiol
a
or testing of biological or in health camps, including the categories
me[tioned in the schedule I appended to the Biomedical s,aste managerncrt tules 2O16,,' I
state the rules. I
India generated 55,117 tonnes of covrD-lg biomedical waste fronr May 1, 9O2O to
I
June 30, 2O21. This was in addition to the 6I4, tonnes per day (rpo) of regular biomedical
'l
waste generation and put an additional l2g rro of biomedical waste per day, adding to
the national biomedical u,aste generation by gt per cent. a
Unlike earlier, biomedical waste is notjust received from health carc facilities (ucrs), I
pathological Iabs and other regular sources ofbiomedical waste, but is also gcnerated at t

@l state of tndia's Envirohment 2022

 I
t
| .*T
.ouset nta" y,l hrT: quarantine facilities and makeshift quarantine camps. Rural
have also been hit wh-ere collection ana ai"p...f ,iiirl.-*aste
I is non_existent.

I| :i:.lT
*tl*:iyi: ;""lg"T!i;:ffi:*H;THii ;t,iffiJail,:"J;:fi"*j
second wave (May 2O2t), the increase in the
co\trD-Ig_retated biomedical

lj::**ilfi Iil:.""ii,'"Ti.,;i;I;T:Li-,xTf lHL?;l#"il:.?i"T;##ii:

I.,ffi ffi :i"i#::,ff"1"i;,'":,il,i,:},,f$,#:'ffi:1",:,il:1;yl:'::.,:
I ,rregular Dromedrcal wflsfe this is evident frour the
number of healthcare facilities
! :hat exist in the countrv_ in ro6pa;s6116 16e
number ofhealthcare f.acilities that have
! .ought authorisation from the
Central pollution Contr"i S...Ji*"r). Close to
,-ent ofthe healthcare facilities in the country so per
J ar" ,.i l",fr".lria, as per crcr, which

PANDEMIC'S BIOMEDICAL BURDEN

'here is a slow but perceptible change in favour of synthetic materials
7.000
:: o
o\
o\
o\
. -i.000
{ € o I
tt ut rn I I
€-
:,.000 ra
:
r l.OO0

:
:
::,000
€
; r,uuu €

RRR
RRR EEEE
sE= F.EEE EEEH i=
E
+E ==
=o ==go-
*Does
not include data from Mayll-3i, 2021; Sourcej
CPCB

- NACCOUNTED WASTE
'.:-:ut 50% of the hearthcare facirities in rndia
': r waste generated on their premise are unauthorised which means the biomedicar
remuin, unu.iorni.i--
-
ital m. 0f healthcare facilitios (flCf)
3,t9,907
ro, of bedded HCts
1,06,643
'otalro.0tbeds
20,94,858
ro. of ron-bedded flf(s
2,15,136
ro. o, (onmor bio-nedicat waJte (BM[r)
tr€atn€lt ,adlity 202
ln. of HtIs granted authorisation
1,s5,103
h. of HCF5 having cartive tt€atment fa(ilities 18,552
-:tal quantity
0f BMW gereration ir (torres/day) 615
-rtal quantity0f
BHWtreated (t0nnes/day)
541
r:. of HCF5 violated B!,tItrules
28,s16
ro. o,show(auserruti(s5/dir€ctiom issued to defa terHCF, 17,t96
SoUTce: CPCB

A Down To Earth annual

@
 WA STE

PROPER DTSPOSAL
BIOMED
Generated from the diasnosis. treatment or immunjsation
of humans and animals, At least eil
biomedicat waste needs to be segregated ano trinareaieparaierv'ir#il,i"r"t
*"rt"
40
YETI.OW CATEGORY
WHlrE CATEGORY
35
Used for: Anatomical. chemicat llsed for: Sharp, usually
and soiled waste, lab waste and
metal, waste such as needles
E30
It medicines
llethod o, disposalr Incineration
and fixed syringes
Method of disposal:
of temperatures between 8OO.C
Autoclaving, followed by
t0 1,050"C or plasma pyrolysis, a thermal
shredding or mutilation and encapsulation
pr0cess that use high temperature in
an in metalor cement containers to be sent
oxygen starved environment to dissociate for final disposal to iron foundries or
waste, or deep burial in rural or remote places
:10
designated pits
5

0
RED CATEGORY
BI.UE CATEGONY
llsed for: Contaminated plastic
Used fori Broken, discarded or
waste such as used tubings
contaminated glassware
and bottles
lrethod of dlsposal: Distnfection
llethod of disposalr Steritised E
by soaking and cleaning
using autoclaving, a process that
with sodium hypochlorite or
uses high-pressured boiling water, followed by
through autoclaving and other process
recycling. The waste should not reach landfills
before recycling

also means that the waste generated on their premises

is unaccounted. For covrD- incinerat,
1g rdated biomedicar ri,,aste, the application developed
uy ir'"."a by a meagre 25 per ce
12'ooo healthcare facilities (in June 2o21), ofthe over "r", healthcare tacilities.
e,oo,ooo contrary,
The data around biomedical waste is also very w"rf.
i" th;;;;; While cpcs has of less th
shared-data over I1 data points (see 'unaccountcd
ivaste', p131;, it lu"ksio giue o" a holistic the courb
view ofthe scenario ofthe biomedical *a-ste managcment
infiastructure. F.oiinstance, r,r.e do autoclavi
not know the ratio ofthe bedded to non-bedded iacilities
th.t Ir""" ..thorisation Orissr
fiomcpcs'weknowthat88percentoftheclaimedbiomediJ*,J[rr"ru,"ai.a."ua"a,"ii"l""a
hower''er, there is no claritv on the remaining
(8), takin
lz per cent. r" it i"p.if"r,rrrough deep At lea
burial. or any other means ofdisposal?
As per the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, got6,
of biomer
biomedical waste has to be
segregated into four categories_yellolr,, red, blue
and u.hli", a"p"rrJl.,g o., the nature Daily bio
ofthe u'aste we also do not know the percentage distribution
oithe foir categories of the lnost
rT'aste that are collected from the healthcare
faJities on arity u""i.. il.,l, that has the I
of rle.6r_4 rpD generated daily, horv much is recei'ed " ^eans
in each red, white equipmer
and blue bags is not knorvn. "f,i"l"lt*, t,ell tI
as
M:leo]'e\ onlythe content ofthe ]ellorv bags is supposed to
be incinerated, while the complian
rest of it is to be channelised to relevr.nt.treatment
iacilitle" after pre-treatment, using and the r
methods such as shredding and autoclaving. while
the ."ti"ra t.l.i"r""t capacity lbr treatmen
dealing with biomedical \,!,aste has been mentioned
.Unaccounted in the details shared by crcr (see 25 pet
x,aste,, pIaI), r,r,hether it is incineration
o. il.re cumulative region-l
capacity to incinerate, shred and autoclave biomedical, ".pu"iq, "i.n"
ha^s not U""r,
This brings us to the question of how much data do rve -".,ti*"a. capacity <

have on biomedical waste (over So

generation in the public domain and how much I
ofit can b" ,r"d to g"i ii"as eye vie,r, capaciq
ofthe biomedical rvaste rnanagement scenario iu the nation. I

Let,s ind "out: The

Biomedical waste infrastructure: In terms of biomedical
r

waste infiastructure, incinerat

Karnataka,and Maharashtra are the top t$,o states with
the highest number of common blue) of t
biomedical waste treatment facilities (zZ urrd st respectivellj
unil also iar. ttre mo.t autoclari
fflstate of tndia's Ervironment 2022
 BIOMEDICAL WASTE INFMSTRUCTURE
5, at least eight states and union Territories do not have infrastructure for treatment
faste of biomedical waste management

40

35
llly
=
needles =tn
=

ibv
J
ulation
rsent
:ls
)t
:10
5

E.A H;
EgE '*E gF:.=
E
carded or
= = €gEE FEE Eg
=E
are E =EEE E E
E_€.:-g6t-.92=p.gEE=
lisinfection
ing
Ei
€:
E E- = ==
)rite or
e55

I cBWTF,s ! lncinerators I Autoclave I shredder * Deep burial

tor covto- :ncinerators and autoclave machines. Cumulatively, these two states account
' a Dreagre fbr over
li per cent of the country's infrastructure fbr dealing with biomedical waste.
On the
r iacilities. -'ontrary, the se'en north easter, states of India have a c.mulative infrastructurc
e cpcs has rf less than 2 per cent of the country's biomedical waste treatment tacilities. while
rs a holistic :he combined incineration inlrastructure of the states is a meagre 2.5 per
cent, the
ancc, rr,e do :utoclaving infrastructure is below 1.5 per cent.
thorisatiorl Orissa (13) has the highest number of deep burial sites followed by Chattisgarh
I is trcated. 3), taking up over Zo per cent ofthe entire disclosed deep burial sites
'ough deep
in the country.
At least eight states/ union territories do not have infrastructure related to treatment
rf biomedical !r,aste managelnent.
r'lras to be
thc nature Daily biomedical waste treatment capacity: wr e Karnataka and Maharashtra
have
tegories of :he most number offacilities to deal with biomedicat,i,aste in the
country, Maharashtra
neals that ras.the highest incineration capacity. Interestingly, despite the high number
rcd. r,hitr
of
:quipment, Karnataka's incineration capacity is u,ay below that of Maharashtra
as
:r ell as that of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and
Uttar pradesh. This may be due to the non_
. rvhile the :ompliance in reporting by the common biomedical s,aste treatment facilities (crwr.rs)
Lent, using :nd the state's pollution control board (ecn), hence not gil.ing a holistic
'.eatment capacitJ view of its
ipacity for .
crcn (see 25 per cent ofthe incineration capaciff ofthe country is concentrated in
the $,estcrn
'r.rmulatile egion-Maharashtra and Gujarat, r.hile the northeastern states havc an incineration
- apacity ofless than 2 per cent. There is a good distribution
ofthe incineration capacity
ical waste over 3O per cent) in the southern states. About 25 per cent ofthe country,s
incineration
s cle vierl :apacit1, is in the northern statcs,
The autoclavinfi (sterilisation through high temperature and pressure) to
itructurc. .rcineration capacity ofthe country is 40:60. Although three streams (u,hite, red and
lcommon rlue) of the segregated biomedical waste needs to go through (see ,proper. disposal,)
, the most
rutoclaring, this pre-treatment operation has been ,ndermined and also underutilised

A Down To Earth annual ftfl

WAST E

DAILY BIOMEDICAL WASTE TREATMENT CAPACITY

Karnataka and Maharashtra have the most number of infrastructure to deal with biomedical waste

90,000

80,000

70,000

60,000

6 50.000

= 40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0
EEq E EEEE= 3 F
E # g gE g S3 E E 9
E
FEEUEE g € E gE EE EE== + z g 3= E;
=EE EEE '+E= E-=.Es-L.Eg*E'
-
EE=
gi
==B

5 =

f lncineration capacity !Autoclave capacity I Shredding capacity IDeepburial rapacity

wherever present in adequate capacity.

c-G
While the deep burial infrastructure is present in close to six states, deep burial apl
capacity has only been shared by Chattisgarh. The other states have not disclosed their
capacity to handle biomedical waste through deep br.rrial methods.
T
What needs to be done? share, o
Since covrD-Ig is still lurking, with spurts seen across the country, it is very important overviel
to build regional infrastructure and treatment/pre-treatment capacity, especially in the
northeastern states. With yaccinations in full swing, India administer.ed 1.46 billion
doses by early January 2022. While this is laudable, the question ofthe volume ofthe
biomedical waste generated in the process and rvhether it was channelised to cBwrFs
Beco
remains unanswered. Requesting anonymity, a cnwrn operator from a northeln says:
sec
"covrD-Ig vaccination-related biomedical waste never reaches authorised facilities and
is sold from healthcare facilities and makeshift vaccination camps to the informal sector
waste aggregators. They solt it and send it lbr recycling, obviously without pre-treatme[t.- a
Funds need to be mobilised by the central and state government to set up cBwrrs in
Lr
the northeastern region as rvell as in other hilly states. Land acquisition to set up such
facilities needs to be fast tracked on priority basis. Get tl
Sophisticated technologies needs to be introduced and promoted for ensuring that template I
from C-(
land-based pollution is not converted to air and water pollution after incineration. This
by sim
can be done by ensuring state-of-the-art dry scrubbing systems which use minimal or clicking
no water. The incinerators of cBwrFs have not been linked to the server of the spcB, "Participa
pcc or cpcB which makes tracking the operations a real challenge. This needs to be the menr
mandated and adhered to for ensuring compliance and to keep air pollution in check, r P

E State ot lndia's Environment 2022

 lffilryl$; ffi
IN S
Compendium of Green lnlrastructure Network systems
https://www.cseindio.org/c-ginslhome

F!EE
=:Ei@

=!=

capacity

whor is c-GlNs?
c-GlNs (compendium of green infrastructure network systems) is the repository for
best practices, Droiects and
lccp burial approaches in support of Green Infrastructure (ct) and water sensitive uroan'oesign
principles. c-GlNs is an open platform where the latest thinking on
i;d pti"riil f-tftuopl
-'losed their natural capitil, ecodystem iivices
and nature-based solutions is brought together.
. lt provides a knowledge marketplace, which showcases case examples of Gl and wsuDp to simplify
how we
share,. obtain.and create knowledge to better manage our urban environment.
rach ofthe case examptei'provioes an
- important overview ofthe intervention, timeline, authorities/;takeholders involved in ttre project,
ouliomeiina leJrnings tips
:ially in the for user education. The preference for sustainable technologies is mai;ly due to csr;s ioniinuous
t.+6 billion motivationtowardsusageofsustainableandenvironme-ntallyharmoniousinterventions.'-
Iurre of the
Ito cawtrs
thcrn says:
Becomins a contrjbutor is a sreat way tl$Y,fl,ilJflx-:flill',lr"tt:r.*n"ner workins in rhe urban water
sector and would like to exhibit your work on Blue-Green lnfrastructure oR wish to submit
rcilities and an implemented
case study, te us and we wi[ feature it on c-crNs, it gets updated every three monthsi
rrnal sector

t4-
-trcatment.-
-n -t r5---
I csw,'ps iu
set up such
cet the
i.-
rs t,-. Click on a
r6
i t6:
rsuring that
ration. This
template format
from C-GINS
!
I t3. "Submit your
case study"

minimal or
by simply
clickingon a
Select and
click on a
Download
a "case
b. Fill in the
template
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WASTE

E,NDLE,SS
DISCARDS
Despite seven different set of rules and amendments 1n ovel
20 years, we continue to struggle with plastic waste

-{
T/

G $i

il,i

nI l)r
?
t::
S!DDHARTH GHANSHYAM SINGH

Y ndia's trnst with plastic waste started in 1999 when the very first set ofrules were
I notified. Despite more than seven different set ofrules and amendments in over
I 2o 1ears, rve still continue to face the problem ofplastic waste, specifically single-
I use Dlastic (suP) lvaste
I Acco.di.rg to the Central Pollution Control Board's (cPcB) 2015 report,
L Ar""r"*"nt G Chctrotteriscttion oJ'Plastic Waste Generation in 60 Major Cities,
which was carried out in the dumpsites, approximately 25,9'10 tonnes per day (rro)
of plastic waste is generated in India. This works out to approximately 9.5 million Slng
metric tonnes of plastic u'aste every year. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (uouua) claims that around 15,600 rPD (60 per cent) gets recycled, still leaving ::.

behind nearly lO,OOO tonnes, u'hich eventually ends up clogging drains, riveLs, seas, or
.:
simply as the litter that $,e see everpvhere around us. Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, :
Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad are among the top generators. As pcr a 2019
cpcB report, approximately 7o per cent ofplastic packaging products are converted into
plastic waste in matter of minutes. The study also infcrred that, of the plastic lbund in
the dumpsites, almost 66 per cent ofplastic waste belonged to high-density polyethylene l

EState of lndia's Environment 2022

 SEpTEMEER 1999 IFEBRUARY2OII MARCH 2016 16TH APRII2O'8
Plaslirs manufacrure. I rhe p,astic waste Union inistry of
i./l MoEFCC amends
Sale and Usage RL,es. I t\,lanagement & itandling Environment, Forest PWM Rules,2016,
ba8s I
I99q I Bans cafl v Rules. 2OI Bans and Climate Change indicating phasing
less thal20 mi(ron in
I car-y bags less than 40 (lroEFCC) notifies Plastic out of multi-layered
thi(kness micronsir thick ress
I Waste Management
(PWtl) Rules 2016
plastics (i.4Lp)
I
o
I llAY 2019 I 6TH I|ARCH 2019 JAITIUARY 2019 sTH JUiIE 2018
I lndia notes the I MoEFcc bans solid ptasti( Standard Prime minister
I decision of Cop-14 ro I scrap lmports from guidelines for
I entering sDerial economic single"use plastic :11"8T;TJJ-O
I zones (SEZ) and exoort (SUP) issued by
I oriented units (EoU) MoEFCC
I
I

["*'"*.,'",.
Or
AUGUST 2021 0cT0BER 2021
Amendment to pWM Draft extended
Rules 2021. Defines SUp producer
and provides a schedule responsibility for JOURNEY SO FAR
for their phase out plastic waste Steps taken by lndia
to tackle the issue of
plastic waste

.roer) and lorv-density polyethylene (r,oen) materials sourced

mainly f}om households
.rd residential localities.
On the contrary, cpcB's most recent annual report published
in 2OZl forthe year 2019_
- 'r. rvhich was prepared on the basis of data collected and compiled f.rom all the state
,llution control boards (crcas) and pollution control committe;s (pccs),
suggests that
:rlr'3.47 million tonnes ofplastic rvaste was produced. More than gO
per cent ofthe urban
.albodies (ur,r's) and less than l per cent of'the gram panchal,ats hal,e
submitted data on
astic waste generation to the respective state pollution control
board (srcrs) and pccs.
'-''''e'er, the methodologl used by the either thc
ur,gs or the s"cBs and pccs to arive a.t the
. :rount ofplastic u-aste being generated in
theirjurisdiction has not been shared up-front,
This leads us to conclude that we do not know the amount
of plastic waste that \_e
.:c dealing rvith on a daily basis, r,hich leaves planning,
strategising and infrastructure
:r elopment for reduction, and processing ofplastic waste loo""ti
huriging.

single-use plastics
' :riply put, plastic produced and designed to be thro','n au,ay
after being usert only once is
. med single use plastic. By that definition,
a large number ofproducts iall in the category
: sup, These include er,'erl,thiug liom a disposable strau,to
a disposable slringe. as pe.th"
rited Nation's delinition, "single-use plastics, often also referred to as disposable
-. commonly used for plastic packaging plastics,
and include items intended to be used onlv onr:e
.:ore they are throu,n away or recycled. These include, among other
items. S-;;;rg",
,d packaging, bottles, straws, containers,
cups and cutlery,,.
In the European Union (EU), the definition of single:use plastic products
has been

A Down To Earth annual @

WAST E
DLA
':-i
PERPETUAL GENERATION plastic waste
;;;;;;; tonnes per daY (rPD) or
"'t4o Daily Plastit DailY Plasti(
Plastic waste TotalmuniciPal
citY ftO waste (tonnes)
(xg/ Mr) 5o1i6 s61s (MI) waste
689.8
101.44
429.4
95.42
429.5
116.09
427.1

313.9

24i.1

199.3

by CPCB
Generation in 60 Majorcities
Source: Assessm€nt and
characterisation of Plastics Waqte

products rhat forur a ttr''

frt,m thc on_gr.ourrd rcscar.ch and arrallsis or'singrc-lrsc
der.ircd ll+"*i"-"'" ur*tii
oad of litter'. As pcr tt'" eu
a"riuiti'"''
io,;nr phsti' anrl tlrat is trol
""'il]:l.l:Xd"Tli,:iilil::''
conceivtd' desigrrc(l {tr plir(c(
it"i'. tu thc Pr"rlrr'
"r'""ift
accornplish. uitlrin ir' litc "p'rn'
rntrltiplc'inO"t -t^t'rl* flr heinE,rcturned
r'rl the samc ptrpore tb'* li:t' :1":,:::ll]111,,.,""0*,.to bc
it
t",'#"TJ::[t"::''ffi
i"r ,"nii
". '**a
on:'
oc uscd on:
"'pra^'ti" it"r" i'tenrlcd
",1]:
rilili'.';;ffi a"
at"n.,"" .,r"r rccl'clcrl" in its Plastic
wa'stc Managemc:'
*t,, il::H;;;;;;;il'" r''"t"'
(6rsL) Amcndnlcrlt Rrrlcs 2o9l ,. ^^r -..--^Tih. oIl hc detinitiorr sp'(
-
ati\ c to nutc tlrat ol all thc dcfinilions rlisr'rtsscd' nunt i'
It i:. impet rrs'' plastic lrorr.rcr' llter. '

thc hDc ol plasti( nrortonrer

tlrirl tt^t i"";;::; i; "1'ke singlt atl llrc deliniti'
, ir . a",i"itiorr
cuirn.".,, ). Alnto'l
,,.,"nii,,n .,f inclusi.,n ol n.,n-ptn
tr,.
prrrposc \r'-
ii" n""t tho" o,'t" frrr rhe interrtled
:;:::;,"; ,i,...iti;'r it' "nn""t t'","J ;fh: i+;911-.:::1::,:""::;:';:'l';:ii,,Y,'],:.
.L\cJ'a;:"tC;il"ilIndian
of thc'r to''u,o' rts l1lgn .'""
thcm also point to'ards definitio, has i.cluci.
"' '."g'.'(ul
Nltion Ellirorrment Progranrllc .'f L'nvir.'ntn'
thc tlctinition bl
thc astlect of rcclt lirrg ol
singf"
"* if^t'i
^' l)y []re rrN EP d(lrrrrt rorr'
Jlli::'"
i ,.Ii ,,.,a cri.^r" changc /vourcc r is in5pircd i"r'"'l:::'::'1:lr:*il';.;;Hl
'rht Dr.,bl('nl
'fhc rtilh (rcrrr,rrs
pr,rblt'nr \!lrn Jrr5n,,r",r.oJ,,,.,,,.r*".urics
tlelirrirrgsirrgl.' '"" M st |unllr'
to bc usetl oncc. thc tirncli ame tirt ''rt'ii corrsidclablv.

cxamprefbrthisistr""to"n'iu.'"p'",i':li"illif:*:l':'5:ii:".:1i,'f}:,ili*'
pr*'i" i' ir'e kind orprastic that is
:::il*:l'J"l[t :':;[J]': ^,#:iffi;'i"si;i I
]:"#il. ilffi n.". rE' u"t'
recvclable' lor rnsra.cr' ""
in lldia to m1f;"
* r'i..r'
""'""r"'' i"oi[ on the :i#;:lil:i:il':l:*";i',::
il:::1t"":ff
rtuti"' other hand' si,glc-use I
I
being downcyclcd Also, there are some i
such as disp<-rsahle cutlery
cannot t -reusecr., or -recl'cled.
pru'ti.. ic
r^ -...^ ^rna+i. necessiry a,d
i' a, necessitv ar can': I

::il ::$:i:1ffi,:X::?;1H;,;;;;;".,ngr","" iiui ;le"f-l:"

to"oa !xaN',3.,nJ[-J.*
be disbanded.
be it can t'"
lact, tt
disban<led. In tact, De ruuuu
"n" crLsts' t *X:T:rT;:HiffHi,"::
plasti
pl*,,""" a,d "disposable
oolr,thene carrybags' Jn sonre
used interchangeablY as well'
^re

who drives the proqy.tigl .ol,:il3::-,:r'.t":lHl,:i* by Minderoo foundation

rvr aK(rs ,*
Makr
w aste
According Plasl ic Waste
According to the Plastic ' . .".".rtine 50 pcr oft
cent of
cenI
---^--i,.r- +x" *""eraling
i".rlir;r.i",",
"
xl :i:i:J+:i:$'1"#:[:,
t"lfr*H'#il;:::l';i;;';il*i;';'iru?"
;lil;"-;1111,fl1 ft*ti' rrr*ll$i"']"Jxu:l"r:
"
to'1"),:o-.ll,l""
u't'',
"'"
chi ;;:' ;;;p*
ton nes ) arlu utrra'
t:,t,:l
r.66 million
ri n rcrric tonnes/
rn ill ion nctnc " "d ::l :':l -illion :"1';1l"l"ll
metric tonnes of sir
"""iJU"i"ra",.,
',:3$ff1*ffi l"fi:[i;;FJJ;:li::T]#i-TJ;;;;;;il;'awma'ieriars
ntaking plastics'
;: :'J;'';t"';i"Jc manu[acturers for thc
Cfti"u u"a Saudi Arahia hold
In terms oIinvestors' the statc ofsauoi 'q""il'

[!tstate ol lndia's Envi]onment 2022

 PLASTIC HUNGRY
r the past 28 years, tndia's plastic consumption has increased by more than 20 times

m 689.8
;18
ltu
429.4

129.5

=to
427.1
=12
:10
lB.9 :^
?41.1

199.1

r2
=

,r'nl a m4i, '

:hirt is lltil(:
1\r market 1
:,:rrce: Plasttndia fou ndation, 2019.
h,: plodut, '

irt rtsed onr, alue share in the sur polyner production. The countries are followed by the ou.ners of
Iartagcme::_ :re Reliance Industries in India. India a^s a country is the ISth largest investor i[ the sup
:olr.mer production.
ii,rns speci: The fa^st rnoving consumer goods (rrrcc) companies are the highest users ofthe single
.,r'. thcr'c i' :.e plastic that they use for packaging their products.
c dcfinitior:.
1l-posc! soll: How much single-use plastic are we generating?
r thc flnit. r-r pcr industry estimates, India produced 17 million
tonnes of plastic in the year 2018_
has inclucl. -J. and consumed 18.45 million metric tonnes of plastic in the same period. The amount
nr iLonrlcr: : plastic that we consume ha^s been rising erponentially. In the lnst 28 years, our plastic
: rnsumption has increased by more than go times. .As per the industry, the
countryt per
ale dcsign. :pita plastic consumption was 13.6 kg/capita in zo18-19. With the pandemic pro-longing
It)it coDlmr :< stay, our per capita plnstic consumption is set to witness considerable grovth soon due
iiitl ptodu,-:' ':, the increased use ofplastic and single use products.
tic that is n, Globally, around so per cent ofthe polylers produced every year is userl Ibr making
-. r\tcnsi{e . rgle-use plastic. In Iudia, apprcximately 60 per cent
ofthe plastic produced is used by the
rlsc Pr'odllf:' : .ckaging sector. Alurost all the pla^stics that arc used fbr packaging
are single use in nature
nr industti.- -:d their mean seryice life is less than a year, sometimes even less. A lot oftimes, the plastic
r ald canu, -
-.ed for packaging is discarded within minutes.
rrstood to f- Howevcr, the plastic uscd for rigid packaging is mostly rnr, uorn which is high value
,able plastii'- -rtic and is supported by an excellent inlbrmal sector value chain in India. It is the flexible
.lckaging made up oflow value, low weight, and high volume plastic that creates problem.
Going bv India's plastic consumptioD of 18.4,5 million tonnes in 2OI8_1g, close to lt
- rllion metric tonnes (60 per cent) is single use plastic primarily used by the packaging
t,)u[dation ] .1tor, of which 3.1 million metric tonnes ofsingle use plastic wa^ste is taken care of, due
rt,r'ce[t oft: its dgid nature and high monetary value a[d recyclability. Thc rest 7.75 million metdc
:tlibutirrg,i.- :rnes of plastic waste is where the problem can be identified and also where the focus
ttnrtributi. - ' .eds to be.

l.tr-ic tonne'
rncs of siugl- rction taken by the Centre and states to deal with single-use plastic
ruutct itls th, .-. perthe Union Ministryof Environrnent, Forest and Climate Change (uorncc),,A multi-
-uged strategr has been adopted for implementing the announcement ofHonhle prime
,,ld thc largr. ::risteron World Environment Dayin 2018 to phase outsingle-use plastic (sue)by ZO2Z,,.

A Down To Earth annual @

 WASTE

PACKAGED DESTRUCIIOI{
ln lndia, approximately 60 per cent ofthe plastic
produced is used by the packaging SILVER tI
sector :
lEo astic for ri
70h
E@ Polyethylen(
! Flexible packaginB Polypropyler

a Rigid packaging Polyethylen(

f Building and construction Polystyrene

I Agriculture
I Electrical and electronics
Automotive . Poor bas
. Absence
I gousehold
necommr
I others . Uniform
importar
reduce ri
17 . Design I
5ou.ce: Plaslndia roundation, ZOt9. carl be ar

materia.l
option ir
j, Spread auareness and promote behavioural changel . Apriorit
ii. regime for phase out ofidentified singi'e considen
-_-
Waste
_ ,Regulatory
Management (rwrrl) Rules. 2Ol6;
use plastic items under plastii . Capacrry
iii. . Engagement with goyernment institutions for better enforcement peIsonn(
associations for assistance and capacity and industr. . Push the
building;
iv. Strengthening ofinstitutionai mechajsm
for enforcement ofpwa.r Rules,
altemati'
. Impleme
lrorrcc had also issued Standard Guidelines fbr waste bu
Single_Use plastic on January 21, 20l.e
to all States/union territories (UTs) and
mlni"tri"s. rne friaeflno I#i**"
- Mandatc
system improrements, legal options for Stat"s/Uf" rnurrug"rn"", in the mr
to pr"ohibli*_-li"_, ifr-"gf,
measures, eco-friendll. alternatives, social -an. regulator. - Policies r
awareness p"lfi" t e guideline producin
also included measures ro be taken by governmenr "ar"uilor.
issued notifications/orders introducing ."g.,lut-n, "ffi;";.
il;ay_;; states/LlTs ha\. . Use ofre
p"rtui.ri.rg ttr
'" .
on plastic carry bags and/or identified
sinsl"_u"" pf^,i. i;,,,.:
'""'"'
"'o^ii.t"
o. pu.tluf U_ Higher tr
recycled I

Key challenges
. Considering the bans and restriction on plastic
products across the country, it can
observed that the there is a lack in th"..if__i,y L
,iu."a uy tfr".tut.
governmeuts. "isri;;in""
. A lot of agencies har,,e been made responsible for
implementation of bans, hower.e:
accountability of implementation is not on
anyone.
' untir now, only one tool has been exercised-plastic
ban; this does not seem to work, a-.

,{iTIil,,!:ii$f":",H"'.I'"Tt".i,."J.1*,::.,il*"jl",i_"."*,",,,",""",,"..
failed to deli\€r as pertheir roles and responsibilities
delegated to them. urst hare failec
in *eating basic waste management infrLtructur"
source segregation, while the rrros ha'e
il;;"";;; ;;;"i'."i.*o ,n.o.*.
failed to imprement tt*."t"J"a p.uao"..,
responsibility Iern ) even after five years frour
the first set of il;..'*'
. Entorcement fiom other govemmeut like
srcr, ecc, crc,
. and,channelisarion o{ ptastic uasre is mosrty "r"r"i"ri"..U*, *""t.
":l$!:l don" Uf.iii".-rt ,".,o,
recyclrng rs made possible through this
work force,. houever they Irare not been gir.:
ary recognition in terms oftheir contribution
to this industry.

EEI stare of tndia,s Environment 2022

 SITVER TINING
rg sector Plastic for rigid packaging is high varue (HDpE, pET),
with excerent support by the informar sector
-
450k
Polypropylere pp
86qo
Poly€thylen€terapthalate pET
ga/o

uction Polystyrer€ pS
55%
r rrre: Plasundia foundaiion. 2019

'onics
. Poor basic^rvaste management practices, like
Iack of segregation.
. Absence of alternatiyes to sup.
Recommendations
. Uniformif
in guidelines on single use plastic across the states and
nnportance. Nationwide bans should be exercised. [IIs is of prime
This will help industry to plan and
reduce risk on investments.
, Design high qualiry plastics for greater durabiliry,
reusability and recyclabilif. This
can be achieved by_ using a single monomer
for making a particulu" proaoct pa"kaging
material. Band-aid solution like atternate use
.^d .;.s, ;":;;;; should be the last
option in the ba^sket and limited to non-recyclable
plastic"waste.
. -\ priority,list or a roadmap to phase out different single
use plastic items, giving clear and
considerable_ phase out target dates lbr
the ird.,"try ind coisu^"., io ,.un"rriorr.
Ltier PlaLsti. ' Capacif building ofall stakeholders across the value
chain, from informal sector to spcr
personnel's.
d industr- ' Push the rrsos to invest in aro collectively
and come up with sustainable packaging
alternatiYes to sup. and
Ies. . Implementation
ofertended producer responsibility, to notjust
collect and recycle plastic
laste but also a mandate to reduce use oipt*ti",
. i., p"oaul" pi"""i.. afr" .".f."t.
n 21,901: \Iandatory disclosure ofquantum ofpl*ti or"d
to *urrrrir"*L p-air"" l"ing put out
anagemer: in the market ou their website.
regulator' . Policies need to be introduced ibr producers
of polymers, since these are the companies
gridelint- ,,xod,,ring plas-tics using fossil
fuels and a.e at th" oftie f..ii"n ot pf*,i" poffr,io".
UTs har. ' Lse of recycled feedstock should be made "oot
compulsory.
partial bi.- . Highertari on using yirgin ra\. naterial and
incentivising for tmnsitioning from virgin to
:ecycled pol.vlners. r

r. it can:
\ the stn:

.. itoucr. _

r0 \rork. .,

,Lrris) ha.
har c fail..
-n throu:-
pr-oducr:

rrcak.
nlil sect,'
irceo gir.

A Down To Earth annual

E[
WASTE

LINE,ARITY TO
CIRCULARITY
Are the policy interventions aimed at achieving sustainable
natural resource managemenl and waste management enough?

ATIN BISWAS

|fl hc increasiug industrialisation, urbanisation and consumerism is causing

I oler exploitation of the natural resources and gcneration of wastes all
I across the globe. This traditioual approach has been iermed as the linear
I economy model-consisting of three stages, namely, take, make, and
I dispose. First, the raw material is extracteJfrom the carth; itis proccssed
J- anri convcrted into a product, utilized as a commodity and finallythe end-
of-tile material is discarded in the environment. CIcarly, this economic model generates
an enormous quantity ofsolid and hazardous waste in the environmetrt.
A cilcular economy (CE) is an alternative to a traditional linear economy model
of development, in rT4rich vte kcep resourccs in use for as long as possible, extract the
maxintum value from them rl'hilst in use, then tecover and regencrate products and
mate als at the end ofeach service life. According to circular economy plinciples, the use
ofvirgin rau' materials should be reduced to the maximum ertent possible and waste shall
be treated as "rcsource" that could be full)' integrated into a Sustainable Business Model
promoting the enl,ironmental lcsilience, economic performance and social inclusion.
Maly researchers across the globe have highlighted thc stern need ofarticulating circular

f[ state of lndia's Environment 2022

 WASTE I

that the CE strategies are mainly limited to down-cycling and recovery. As a resu.: :'tpror,ed pt
it has become essential to integrate other so-called *R strategies,, (3R to gR) for t:,
-
sustainable management of resources and pollution control.
::quires inn
rtcrventior
The transition from the traditioual 3R (reduce, rcuse and rec-"-cle) strategy to ti. .:iiciency ar
advanced 9R (Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufactur. :trinsically
Repurpose, Recycle and Recover) strateg"v is required. It is impoftant to notice th,-
overall, these strategies demand a holistic approach to minimize rcsource depleti, lndia: the
and closing the loop. It is of utmost importance that rve should start following C! -.\-ith
growir
strategies from the ver1, beginning i.e. right from the beginniug rvhen rarv materj: .tift from n
is for manufacturing a product till its usage and end_of_life phase. It is : :urchasing i
-procured
collective of both producer aud consuurer responsibility. :r a broader
A framework based on BR principle of circular economy has been proposecl :.- :rind-set of
shovr.n in the figure which reflects the 9R,s at different stages in a process chain. Tr,
:.inges betlir
three major strategies in an industrial processes and corre.sponding CE strategies .::: :a\\,material
as follows (r) smarter product use and manufacture (2) extend liiespan ofthe produ.-
rroduct man
and its parts and (3) useful application of matcfials. rnd scientific
At a producer level, the usage oftoic input materials should be avoided and clcarr- :rat the pro(
technologies for production should be adopted. Tlrese can be achier,ed by CE techniqu-
:tsponsible r
such as modification in input rnaterial (rau, uraterial) usage. The rarv n.raterial shoulcl al,
:irl achier.ing
ensurc longel.itli to thc product. In addition, there is need to take appropdate measures i - .i'aste manag
ii lvaste gene
:nterp[ises ar
LAYEREDAPPROACH
Thirdli,, C
Thellnion environment ministry aims to achieve rndia's commitments under the uN sustainab{
Development Goals by 2030 by adoptingthese poricy instruments at different rifecycre sta8es: rtmost priorit
:chieve CE, it
. alue chains, r

Extraction . Taxes on virgin materials rith circular

a Restridion on miningofmaterials lrategies ofcir
. Differential pricing .nr.ironmental
. pricingofvirgin materialst0 internalize cost t0 environment hange), and i
. Mandating good mining practices
.r'aluation nee
D6iSr . tife aycle assessment-based standards Ministrl,o{
. Standards l$ Iongevity, dnrability etc. -fEciency Pol
. tnvironment terhn0l0gy yerilication s(heme
. Research pa{nerships lromote up-c)
o Grants for rcsearch and development -olr1mitlrents
Produdion . Producttaxes lolicy instrun(
. Emission 0r perf0rmance standards re rcleased offi
a Advisory servi(es for SMEs
. 50ft loan: to green SMts
Cltt{tmpdo[ r oeposit.efund scheme
I pay-as-you throw pricingfor waste collection $hene
. Product restrictions or bans
. Labelling and certification schemes
. Behaviourally informed interventions
. Grcen public procureme
f,e(ycling . Tax ienefits for recycled materiak
. Stafldards for recyrled matetials
a platformsto match supplyand demand 0f secondary raw materials
. Prom0liag induslria symbrosis I
a Gaantsfor research and development

f,ane dispo:, . Landfill and incineratiofl taxes

. Bans/restridills on landfill
. hlomati0n 0n dismanflilgproducts
. Take-back s.hrmes
. silt loans t0 ronstrud uaste disposal lacilities
sour.e: Policy instruments for im ple menting cE at d iffe rent ife cycle nages (Draft Nationat Reso u rce Efficien cy po ticy, r
2 o I

GlI state of tndia's Environment 2022

 mproved process control. Similarly, the other R
r
There should be collaboration of
strategies
iequires innovative socio-economic, technical and pjcy
rnterventions to attain circular ecorromy fo. r""ou."e different stakeholder: for achieving
:f;ficiency and sustainable waste management
which arethe CE at local, regionat and nationat
rtrinsically pollution fr ee.
leyels. For exalnple, for a sustainable
India: the way forward waste maragemenL there should
growin8 consumerism. there paradigm
'|\'ith
.hift from need-based purchasin
ha^s been a bg a collaboration among differgnt
:Lrrchasins in rndia. rn order to if,j!,:iltil'r",1*ilT: stakehotders such as wite generators,
't a broader-level, it is required to be embedied in the local bodies. informal sector, non-
:rind-set of the people (produr
a'ges between the "producer,,."iil#r,,'i,'lJ,i?;# goverrment organisations/social
:1\\'.matedals' water, and energy judiciously
the
during
rroduct ma-nufacturing phase and ensuring the recyiting
enterprises and the research institutgs
.nd scientific disposal in end-of-life ph*"IAko,
'1at the,product is kept
th. .",ir.umer,, responsibility to ensure
-:sponsible manner.
for urug" fo._ u lo.,g iirn" iri"-""_ii""i;;i.*ffi';
"",ii
Secondly, there should Le collaboration
' ,r achieving the CE at local, regional or iifo"""rrt stakeholders
and nationa.l levels. fo. f* , rustainable
' aste management, there should be a collaboration "*u-pi",
among different stakeholders such
:: \\'aste generators, local bodies, informal sector,
non-government organizations/ social
rterprises and the research institutes.
Thirdty, CE-strategies such as remanufacturing, refurbishment,
na!: etc should be given
.:most prioritv in the resource management_chain.
Although recycling is a good strategr to
,:hievc CE, it is important to note thatrecycling

I -'lue chains,
and recovlry are at tf,e end ofthe product
causing ross ofvalue ofthe prodict be"""r" .'fi;;;;
rth circular.systerns. policy interventions are required
-,rategies ofcircular economy liom
;fli"iencies compared
in o"a". to int"g.ute the other
the point wben a productis at its inception phase.
These
rrironnental policies should be ba.sed_on output (pe-rfonnance
ofpolicie's), outcome (socia.l
:.argc), and impact (environmental change)
bascd on which tlm'e fraire tar effectiveness
aiuation need to be decided.

.-Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change rereased Draft National Resource
: liciency Policy, golg which seeks to
enable efficient use of natural resources and
. omote up-cycling ofwastes
across all sectors ofthe economy. It aims to
achieve India,s
mmitments under the UN Sustainable Development
C""f" Uy ZOSO by adopting the
,licy instruments at different Iife cwcle
stages given in thetable i'"to*lir," poti"y i" y"t to
- rclea^sed olfrcirllv . "

I A Down To Eanh annual !@

t- DATA DIVE I

Biomedicql wqsle -
Horyono,Andhro Prodesh, Utiorokhond, Chondigorh ond Kerolo sow the
moximum increose in biomedicol woste due to COVID-] 9

INDIAS COVID-I9 INFECIED WASIE IS OVER I OO IIMES ITS

NON.COVID BIOMEDICAT WASIE'
CoVID-19 inlecled ESTIMATE
w0$e I>500r
Non-CovlD biomedicol Non-CovlD biomedicol Non-CoVlD biomedicol June 2020{une 2021
woste in 201 9-20 woste in 2018-19 woste 20,]7-,l8 56,898.4
615 608 53I
l0nnes lonnes l0nnes
* comparson between 2019 20 non coV D biomed cal waste and lune 2020 lune 2021 CoVID 19 biomedical waste

Non-CoVlD-19 biomedicol CoVID-19 biomedicol wosle

woste 2019-20 (tonnes) June 2020-June 2021 (lonnes)
62.3- lvlohoroshlro
42.9- Kerolo 6,442.2
36.4 lI Gujorot 5,004.9
58.3 I Tomil Nodu 4,835.9
28.8 I Delhl
52.8I Uttor Prodesh
77.5- Kornotoko
4r.6- West Bengol
r4.8 I Horyono E3,025.3
t5.t I Andhro Prodesh
17.81 [4odhyo Prodesh
r8.01 0disho
20.71 Rojosthon
l6.l I Punjob
20.s1 Telongono II,lo9.7
-1,642.9
3.8 l..lttoro kho nd -1,382.8
I683.4
3.9 Chondigorh
-2,462.8
-1,289.1 Ploslir
7.7 Jhorkhond I543.0
-671.4 genel
5.9 Puducherry 4428.4
3.4
7.1
8.8
Himochol Prodesh
Chhottisgorh
Assom
I
I
I
414.3
381.4
3s7.4
,ffi
+
34.8 I Bihor I 336.0
5.9
1.5
J&K
Goo
I
a
r 36.6
124.2 ;W
I.3
L0
Megholoyo
l\4onlpur
| 92.2
56.5
ffivt
0.5 Sikklm 35.6 'ts5ff}f.'j
0.4 Arunochol Prodesh 34.8 i-d*i;.,-i,i
0.9 Nogolond 34.1 '1^,.!tr.-ii.:
0.9 l\4izorom 29.2
0.3 Dornon & Diu ond Dodro & Nogor Hoveli l4.I iiffiffi
'"sbd{t*
1.4 Tripuro 7.5
o.7 Andomon & N cobor 4.0
$l*ffi
Sourc€ M n stry ol Envifonmenl,Foreslond Climo:
0.1 Lokshodweep 3.6 Chonge;As on Ju y 202

EE State of lndia's Environment 2022

 COVID-I 9 woste burden
The world is discording
or.i 00 million single_use foce mosks or
-3,f foce shields
every doy due to the pondemic

:lI ESTIMATED fACE MASI(S GENERATION

I > 500 mi ion pieces I .tot
_500miflion I5t _ t00mi ion f l] _50miltion I - I0 million ffi <l million

}".r, 8,317

Ploslic biomedicql wosle types

generoled during ponOemid- -- [:'jffi5,'":ITJyf 'J8i,i#l?'*'

ffi
t*oo.
J 445 miuion

!
nrrico 412 mirion
€
r7\ southAmerico sao rittion
: !

@@@
i
NorthAmerico
! zll rirtion

'rnd Clim:. oceonio mittion

:1July 2C: lz2
Sourcer'CoV]D poltuliont impocf ol COVID-19 pondemic
on globolplosiic wosie footprinl,, published
in Ce I presg Februorv 202l

A Down To Earth annual

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