Sustainable%20Solid%20Waste%20Management%20In%20Developing%20Countries

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Sustainable Solid Waste Management In
Developing Countries

• Mrs Almitra H Patel, Member
• Supreme Court Committee for Solid Waste
  Management
• almitrapatel_at_rediffmail.com

2
WASTE MANAGEMENT THEN NOW

• Since ancient times, domestic wastes have been
  composted for return to the soil.
• Till the 1940s, farmers brought produce
• to towns, took urban organics to fields.
• With cities growing, subsidies for urea in the
  1960s and thin plastics appearing, urban waste
  lost its value to farmers.

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NOW WASTE IS A PROBLEM

• Urban waste is now dumped just beyond
• city limits on vacant land in villages or all
• along highways, canals, in lowlying land.
• It breeds flies, mosquitoes, rats. Dogs
• thrive on waste heaps and form hunting
• packs at night, attacking village livestock.
• Villagers feel helpless against such officially
  sanctioned pollution.

4
1994 SURAT PLAGUEWAS A WAKE-UP CALL

• 94 1st Clean India Campaign by Capt JS Velu
  me 30 cities in 30 days via Surat
• 95 2nd Clean India Campaign, 60 new cities
• OPEN DUMPING OUTSIDE EVERY CITY
• 96 PIL No 888/96 against all States for
  hygienic eco-friendly waste managemt.
• 99 Supreme Court Committee Report.

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1999 REPORT TO SUPREME COURT GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• Clean Up and Flourish or Pile Up and Perish
•  
• A city is only as clean as its dirtiest areas
•  
• The best way to keep streets clean
• is not to dirty them in the first place.
• Aim for cities without street bins.
•  
• 2000 Municipal Solid Waste (Mgmt Handling)
  Rules. COPIES AVAILABLE.

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POLICY IN A NUTSHELL

• Keep wet dry wastes separately
• Doorstep collection of wet waste, to
• Compost all bio - degradables.
• Leave Recyclables to the informal sector.
• Landfill only Compost Rejects inerts.
• Waste Mimimisation is vital.

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MORE GUIDELINES

• Handle waste once only ! (Collect in mobile
  bins or tipper vehicle)
• Separate collection of inerts (road dust, drain
  silt, debris)
• No Burning of Waste or Leaves
• Bio-Med Waste follow its Rules.
• S. Ct No Pesticide on Wastes

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INDIAS BEST PRACTICES

• Waste Separation at Source succeeds where
  citizens see it transported separately also, e.g.
  in Suryapet.
• Doorstep Collection keeps streets and roadside
  drains much cleaner.
• Separate collection timings for inerts drain
  silt, debris lots, road diggings.
• Weekly collection of garden waste.

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TWO METHODS FOR DOORSTEP COLLECTION

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ZERO WASTE COLONIES COMPOST WASTE AT
HOMES OR LOCALLY
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MARKET WASTE IS EASY TO VERMI - COMPOST
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DRY RECYCLABLES NEED SEPARATE COLLECTION
ROUTES AND SORTING SPACES
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THIN - FILM PLASTICS ARE AN EXPENSIVE
PROBLEM AT CENTRALISED COMPOST PLANTS
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SHREDDED PLASTICS MAKE EXCELLENT BITUMEN
ROADS BY A PATENTED PROCESS

• Collect through schools
• 1 free pencil for 1 kg plastic
• Sell pooled class collection for Eco Club
  activities.
• Take Back policies needed.

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RECYCLABLE IS MEANINGLESS UNLESS RECYCLING
IS ACTUALLY DONE. INDIA HAS A HUGE P E T
PROBLEM1 PVC bottle can ruin a batch of 10,000
PET Ban rigid PVC packaging for effective PET
recycling and insist on Bottle Take - Back.

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WASTE STABILISING

• IS THE FIRST STEP IN COMPOSTING
• AND CAN START AT ONCE
• Unload waste in wind-rows, spray with
  bio-cultures
• turn weekly, 1-4 times. Dark humus forms in 2
  months.
• Even unsieved, this can be spread to cover old
  waste
• and grow flowers and non food crops, or peelable
• foods like maize or banana.
• Root crops take up heavy metals.
• This urban agriculture will control fires and
  curb
• encroachments on unused dumps.

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COMPOSTING IS THE BEST WAY TO RECYCLE ORGANICS

• Spray biocultures, then
• shape heaps into windrows.
• Turn weekly or at least once.

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CITY COMPOST CHEMICAL FERTILISERS WORK
WONDERSReduce Chem. Fert 50, buy compost with
savings. Drought-proofing, less waterings, 15-25
higher yields in all crops tried.This is paddy 6
weeks after transplanting.
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CITY COMPOST CAN RESTORE TSUNAMI HIT SALINE
SOILS.Raised Beds 1m high, 10 m wide, upto 10
km from sea, water table 2m or less.Or 1.5m
broad beds furrows, inland.See
www.excelind.com for Dholera CD
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DONT THINK OF WASTE TO ENERGY FROM
URBAN WASTE IN INDIA !

• Average 45 inerts because of faulty collection
  practices everywhere.
• Only 7 combustibles after rag - picking.
• LOW calorific value, 800-1200 kcal/kg.
• Works only at micro scale, on campuses
• where biogas is used for heating, e.g. in
• kitchen for 40,000 at BEL factory.

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LONG HISTORY OF MANY WTE FAILURES

• 1980s Delhi Incinerator ran only 6 days!
• 2004 Biometh promoters ran away
• after investing US 18.7 million for 5MW,
• generating only 0.5 MW over past year.
• 17 MoUs, 15 withdrew after 3 to 7 yr wait.
• 2 RDF successes actually run on 70
• to 90 paddy husk, on citys free land
• meant for urban waste management !

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COST OF WTE vs COMPOST

• For processing 300 tons/day waste
• Compost US 1 million, all successful.
• Biometh US 18.6 million, a failure.
• For installing 1 MW capacity power
• Thermal or Hydel US 1 million
• WTE (RDF,biometh,burn,) US 1.8 to 3.8 million.
• Foreign lobby drives WTE in India, SAARC.

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BUSINESS CLIMATE FOR SWM

• US 65 Billion needed for urban infra -structure
  over next 10 years power, roads, water supply,
  sanitation, SWM.
• Greater autonomy given to cities.
• Private sector being encouraged.
• Municipal Development Funds or Bonds.
• 400 joint ventures in environment sector.
• Growth driven by courts public demand.

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

• MINI solutions for secondary transport, like 3 or
  4 wheel small tippers.
• LOW cost windrow turning equipment.
• Waste Sanitising Composting services.
• Compost Marketing, tie-ups with fertiliser firms,
  or for greening mining overburdens.
• LOW cost landfills, bentonite quilt liners.
• SIMPLE, DECENTRALISED, CLEAN Recycling
  Technologies for Tyres, PET, multifilms,
  tube-lights, batteries, e-waste.