Romanticizing with municipal solid waste

Recognising the potential threat to the environment and public health, the HonorableSupreme Court of India intervened and effected enactment of  Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000 in the year 2000. At that point of time the Court directed 40 Class-I cities to clean up in 3 years. However in 2013, after 13 years of introducing the Rules and after having spent considerable resources in setting up solid waste treatment plants, we are no where close to the desired state. Officially we do not know how many Class-I cities are in a position to  claim compliance with the MSW Rules, 2000 and how many treatment plants are working effectively. The fact is that not a single municipality is in position to claim full compliance with the Rules and not a single treatment plant across the country is working satisfactorily. Another fact is that across the length and breadth of the country we do not have a single well designed and operating sanitary landfill site in place. Apparently a considerable investment has been made in potentially risky treatment plants but no significant efforts have been put in place to create landfill infrastructure.

It appears that we have been romanticising with the waste for far too long. Instead of recognising the threat to public health and that of the animals (please watch this gut wrenching video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SifRIYqHfcY to find out what happens to our holy cows and how the society is indifferent and apathetic to the plight of the docile and sacred animal) we have been aiming to convert our garbage into gold - 'waste to wealth' or 'waste to energy' and not realising that it does not happen on its own. We have been using these beautiful phrases like 'Waste is not a waste, but a resource at the wrong place';  'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle'; 'Source segregation'; 'Resource Recovery', etc....But we have not been able to show that by use of these polemics we have even a single city in the country which can claim to have achieved full compliance with the Rules. It appears that we are Romanticising with the Waste for far too long and using these beautiful phrases as excuses for not taking the serious measures of creating most reliable infrastructure of sanitary landfills or mass burn plants.

We must remember that "Waste is something which has lost its purpose, use and value to the owner" (Mataki 2010) and once something has reached its end of life it deserves only two measures - either a dignified cremation or a dignified burial. In the context of solid waste management dignified cremation means mass burn with state of the art emission control system and dignified burial means sanitary landfilling. Municipalities have to take the responsibility of creating and effectively operating these infrastructures at their own costs without expecting private players to give a Mida's touch and convert their garbage into gold. Waste loads are rising rapidly in line with the living standards of the urban population and it is not possible to address the challenges with these nice sounding business as usual approaches. 

Kerala dumps its waste, does not collect it - Indian Express

On July 5th Indian Express came out with a story on the pathetic situation of municipal solid waste management across the state of Kerala (see the link below):

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kerala-dumps-its-waste-does-not-collect-it/970383/0

It is indeed a very sorry state of affairs. For a problem of industrial dimensions, quacks are still chest beating on source segregation and decentralized solutions and activists are offering their hair-brained ideas on biogas and rag pickers, etc.. Some are hoping that the army of rag pickers will solve the problem! Its like going to traditional healers specialising in exhorcism while we have a full blown cardiac problem on hand (and there are no qualified cardiac surgeons around) !!  (whatever happened to 'Mother India needing organic carbon' paradigm!!). No wonder 'God's own country' is now finding itself buried under a mountain of trash. (BTW isn't it that the term 'God's own country' was coined by the party that professes atheism!?). 

Remember what we diagnosed back in 2006 ?! Wonder if you figure out that its all coming true after couple of thousand crores down the drain - The Thiruannanthpuram plant has been officially closed down, all the three plants in Vishakhapattanam have been shut down permanently, all the 10 odd plants constructed under the 'Air Force Station' scheme of the MoUD have closed or malfunctioning, and numerous others - of which I lose track !!

While we tried to convince the community, but we were shot down!! There was expectation that some day a PPP player with Midas touch will come and will convert all our trash into Gold (recently heard a senior IAS officer heading a 6 million + ULB claiming that trash is their asset !! see the previous post) !! Unfortunately the PPP market is now seeing new levels of aggressive bidding with unsustainably low tipping fee quotations !! Developers are wondering whether they can pull it off in the long run !! Operators themselves are wondering when they would be forced to close down operations. We are hoping that there will light some day ! Until then ....

God Bless

Recently during a discussion in the context of payment of tipping/gate fee to operators of MSW treatment plants, it was very interesting to hear a very senior municipal official say that "solid waste is our asset". My reaction to this was "Do they consider their open dumps of waste as fixed deposits?"

Our municipalities are still hoping that some day a private operator will provide Mida's touch and convert their MSW into gold ! With this as the over-riding paradigm, it is very difficult to help them realise the need for payment of gate fee to the operator in lieu of the essential service being rendered by the latter for (a) reducing waste volumes (b) rendering it safe for disposal into a landfill, and above all (c) assisting the former in discharging their constitutional responsibilities for protection of environment and public health.

With the concerns raised by the Hon. Minister of Urban Development recently on sustainability of MSW and sewage treatment plants, let's hope that we will soon hear the ULBs taking a call on this difficult issue.

It is interesting to note that some people at pretty high levels still consider solid waste management to be just 'brooming the streets' ! No wonder we miss the point and find ourselves in the present situation as seen across the entire urban India.

Wonder when the domain of MSW will be recognised as an operation involving 3 M - Material, Man and Machine and when sound industrial management principales for optimum performance on all the three fronts will be adopted ? Let's not forget that the bottom line is optimising the finances involved in capex and opex and deliver an acceptable level of service to the users/ customers.

Radioactive waste at a scrap dealer shop

Recently radioactive waste from Delhi University found its way to a scrap shop and the owner and some workers got exposed. This week one of them has died. This is not an isolated case, as reports say that recycled steel exported from India has been found to contain traces of Cobalt-60.

The issue is when highly learned scholars and medical practitioners can not be relied to segregate the certified hazardous waste then how do we expect humble housewives and maid servents across the country to segregate nasty banana peel and other food waste (collectively called biodegradable or 'green waste') from the rest of the household waste day-in and day-out ? MSW Rules, 2000 have embraced this paradigm of source segregation, however the reality is far too complex, given vast disparity in socio-economic and educational background as well as the level of awareness and concern. The high profile educated strata of the society is least concerned and for the underprivileged this issue is not on the radar. No wonder efforts to promote 'segregation of domestic waste' at source have failed across the country. Because it is simply not possible to overcome the overwhelming entropy that prevails in the country, look what the DU scholars did - they sold radioactive material along with scrap metal to generate some small money!!! despite stringent regulations.

Let's hope some positive lessons will be drawn from this incident and the ambition of source segregation of household waste and resource recovery from rotting stuff will be toned down. Because like the radioactive waste, MIXED MSW also deserves to be only given a degnified burial in a sanitary landfill. Otherwise like the gama rays that come out of the former, MSW when disposed of openly will continue to release lethal viruses and bacteria and jeopardise public health - yours and mine.

Of course an easier option for domestic kitchen waste is always there - just promote home composting !! That is the most sustainable Earth Friendly practice.

GORAI SHOWS THE WAY

It is interesting to see that the long long pending capping of the Gorai garbage dump site by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is now being termed as 'Waste to Wealth' operation. For decades the residents in the vicinity suffered, but finally they heaved a sigh of relief when good engineering practice of at least capping from the top has been adopted. Now that there is scope for land fill gas capture (whatever residual that my still be left !!) and we have the carbon missioneries offering credits, this is being recognised as a viable model for 'waste to wealth' ......... notwithstanding the issue of 'paucity of land', as it was already blocked for last 20-30 years any way.

This initiative has also led to wealth creation in terms of appreciation in property values in the surrounding areas and thereby higher potential for property tax collection for the MCGM.

It will be imperative to draw positive policy lessons from this initiative of the MCGM and check out how this option is more robust, sustainable and viable vis-a-vis the current policy of setting up factories for 'beneficiation' of the mixed municipal solid waste into compost, biogas or RDF.

WHY VERY FEW PEOPLE WANT TO DO HOME COMPOSTING ?

Despite showing the most effective way of getting rid of the organic kitchen waste by the method of home composting in a bin, my experience is that there are actually very few people who really want to come forward and make commitment for the Mother Earth. People are fond of talking, debating and discussing about the issue of solid waste in workshops, seminars and conferences. The debate on source segregation is never ending without coming to the conclusion that its the maid servant which takes care of the organic kitchen waste in typical high and middle income households. The champions in such forums themselves are not coming forward to take up the most Earth Friendly Green Hobby of Home Composting ! Its a question of attitude - people perceive solid waste should be handled by some one else, its not for him or her. Some one else will come and operate his/her bin and then hand over the processed and packaged compost at the end of the month. A typical mindset also explores the business model behind this - evidently there can't be any, as seen in several progressive municipalities in the west who hand out the bins for free to their citizens !!

Secondly and funnily people also want to assess the financial benefit that could be possible out of their investment in a simple composting bin. The typical response is "How much will be the value of compost that will be produced in my bin?" and "What is the return period?" My humble request is to ask yourself whether do you get the same question while planting a tree ? or going to a temple od doing some other noble act? Then why do we ask these questions when the act is going to releave the burden from the Earth, make it a better place and in the process convert the putrefying material into a desirable end product - manure/compost.

Let's hope there will be enough concern on the issue of mounting solid waste and people will come forward to discharge their individual environmental responsibility in a foreasble period. Am I being too optimistic !

Asit Nema

November 15, 2009