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SWM, Public Health & The Human Development Index
SWM, Public Health & The Human Development Index
Human Development
Index
Almitra H Patel
Member, Supreme Court Committee for Solid
Waste Management in
Class 1 Cities in India
almitrapatel@rediffmail.com
Poor Waste Mgt affects all 3 HDI criteria
Longevity is affected by water-borne diseases
(80% of infectious diseases) & fly-borne diseases
from waste dumps.
Knowledge & IQ are affected by careless disposal
of hazardous domestic wastes like mercury in
tube-lights, heavy-metal paints, pest sprays, PVC.
Standard of Living is affected by needless waste-
induced medical expenses, absenteeism, low
productivity and a filthy unaesthetic environment
which is nobody’s choice for a way to live.
2
Garbage caused Surat’s Plague
Garbage choking storm drains and sewers
caused flooding in the city.
Floods brought the rats out of their burrows into
the human population.
“India is sitting on a time bomb” said Capt
Velu. Hence our 2 Clean India Campaigns ’94-95.
We visited 100 cities, all of them open-dumping
just outside their city limits all over India.
9
Minimise Plastic Waste. Put it to use.
Collection through school children keeps thin-
film plastics + sachets out of domestic waste.
A Salem school got 1.5 tons plastic in 10 days
by giving 1 free pencil per kg of it.
Coorg District was cleaned as class-wise sales
of plastic funded Eco-Club activity.
Replacing 10% bitumen with shredded plastic
gives very superior low-maintenance roads.
TN has 1200 km rural ‘plastic roads’ at no extra
cost. Also clean villages, as SHGs were paid
Rs 12/kg for shedded plastic from their area.
10
Minimise Wet Waste Volumes
Delhi already has the answer since ’90s:
Daily Sanitising of Dalaos.
In a one-month demo at Nehru Place Dalao,
instead of a truck emptying it daily, Excel sprayed
it morning and evening with its composting
biocultures.
No odour, no flies, huge volume reduction :
After 1 month, all waste went in 7 trucks!
22 truck trips saved per month at 1 dalao!
(Hence no interest in implementation……)
11
Dalao Sanitising is Cost - Effective!
15
Corruption is consuming
most of our cities :
Transport mafia, paid by weight, WANTS inerts in
the garbage, ruining good use of both items.
Horticulture: red earth + manure mafia resists use
of city’s own compost for planting and greening.
Contractors’ bitumen theft and road repair racket
resists durable road specs using waste plastics.
Let urban funding depend on a city’s performance
in waste minimisation, recycling and reuse.
PILE UP & PERISH or CLEAN UP & FLOURISH 16