RECYCLING FOR SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT

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RECYCLING FOR SUSTAINABLEWASTE MANAGEMENT

• Almitra H Patel
• Member, Supreme Court Committee for Solid Waste
  Management in
• Class 1 Cities in India
• almitrapatel_at_rediffmail.com
• www.almitrapatel.com

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LET US BE PROUD OF INDIAS SMALL ECOLOGICAL
FOOTPRINT !

• We use 50-100 gm non-degradable waste per capita
  per day in larger cities, vs
• 1-2 kg per capita per day in the West.
• This is NOT backwardness. We should
• not copy the ways of throwaway cultures.

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In India, recycling supports 0.5 1 of a
citys population

• Almost all plastics are recyclable, and are
• collected if it is economically worthwhile
• and gives a survival wage.
• Thin carry bags are not collected now
• from mixed waste or at dumpsites.
• Increasing micron thickness to 20 micron,
• then 40 or more has not helped at all.

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Thin-film plastics in our mixed waste is
increasing

• In 1993, 1-2 by weight reached the dumps.
• In 2003, this rose to even 7-9 in some cities.
• In 2014, guesstimates are as high as 15-20.
• Plastic volumes now exceed the volume of
• compost produced in compost plants.
• Plastics must be removed from compost to
• prevent damage to soil porosity and water
• absorption, and the poor germination of seeds.

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That is why we must keep Wet and Dry wastes
unmixed at our homes and also during
collection and transport

• MSW Rules 2000 direct Municipalities to
• promote recycling or reuse of
• segregated materials and ensure
• community participation in segregation.
• Then wet waste can be composted to
• make our fields more fertile, save water

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City officials and Contractors are not serious
about separate wet and dry collection because
transport payment is by weight. So it is
better to pay by household.

• Citizens keeping their wastes separate see it
• mixed in front of them, and quit in frustration.
• So city by-laws must insist that only plastic-
• free kitchen waste will be collected daily.
• Cities should have separate collection days
• for mixed recyclables, once or twice a week.

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Recyclable is meaningless unless Recycling
is actually done!

• We must make dry waste collection viable.
• If carrybags can fetch a street price of Rs 6
• per kg, they can be shredded and very
• usefully used in asphalt roads, replacing 8
• by weight of bitumen and giving 250 to
• 300 better road life and less pot-holes.
• Make plastic roads mandatory like Himachal

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Indians can recycle almost everything except
kurkure.These are also useful in Plastic Roads
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Collection costs must be affordable

• Voluntary take-back by industry is the most
• effective solution worldwide, as for glass
• bottles for soda and soft-drinks since 1900s .
• Do the same for sachets and pouches.
• A one-free-for-20-empties will bring in small
• sachets and pouches. This collection cost can
• be part of the EPR (Extended Producer
• Responsibility) required in the Plastics Waste
• (Management Handling) Rules, Amendment
• 2011.
• WE MUST USE THESE EPR RULES EFFECTIVELY

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Definition of Extended Producer Responsibility
EPR in the Rules

• 3g EPR means the responsibility of a
• Producer or Manufacturer of plastic
• carrybags and multilayered pouches
• or packages for the environmentally
• sound management of the product
• until the end of its life. This
• responsibility also applies to all
• manufacturers using such packaging.

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Duties of Cities and Producers / Users of
Carrybags Multilayers

• 6c (i) Cities must ensure safe collection,
• storage, segregation, transportation,
• processing and disposal of plastic waste
• (iii) Set up collection centres for plastic waste
  involving manufacturers
• (iv) Ensure its channelisation to recyclers
• (v) to (vii) Create awareness, involve
  waste-pickers, stop open burning

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Recyclers should demand EPR and help to make it
successful

• 6 (d) cities may ask the manufacturers, either
  collectively or individually, in line with EPR
  principles, to provide the finance to set up
  collection centres.
• (g) Cities should include this in Bye-Laws
• (h) Cities shall encourage the use of plastics
  in road construction, co-incineration in cement
  kilns etc.

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Upgrade Kabadi Scrap shops to Ward-wise
Collection Centres

• Form an Association of Kabadi and Scrap Shops in
  each city and town
• Put up a Website with their location on a map
  and their cell numbers
• Update weekly prices for different wastes for
  citizen and industry information
• Offer on-call pick-up of clean dry waste

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Transport costs are a major problemfor
recycling lightweight wastes

• EPR is best utilised for bringing low-value
  plastics to recyclers.
• We need mobile low-cost shredders ,
• mobile low-cost balers or compaction,
• mobile P2F (Plastics To Fuel) units,
• Some heavy-duty balers to move non-
• recyclables to cement plants as AFR
• Alternat Fuel Resources to replace coal

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Recyclers Associations should ask cities for
Recycling Eco-Parks

• A given area should be like an industrial estate
  only for recyclers
• It should have UNINTERRUPTED POWER which is so
  important for plastics recycling
• It should have a heavy-duty baler, weigh-bridge
  and P2F unit for recycling rejects.
• All this can be funded through E P R

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Create solutions for what is not currently
being easily recycled

• Replace thermocole packaging with bubble-wrap or
  recyclable shapes like papier-mache, or
  bubble-wrap
• Change the gum on BOPP film labels on
• PET bottles if it interferes with recycling.
• Use PVC-free recyclable Polythene, banners,
  hoardings and eco-vinyl, toys and bottles
• STOP use-and-throw use of PVC bottles, toys

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CREATE A NATIONAL MAP OF ULTIMATE RECYCLING
FACILITIES

• WHY? An east UP recycler closed, so Dabur hair
  oil bottle collection in Puri stopped as Delhi
  was too far to ship this special waste.
• Kabadiwalas in small towns need links to the
  nearest glass-factory, or kurkure buyer.
• Recycling Assn can usefully prepare such a map
  for guidance and use of the waste trade, and
  recyclers who wish to set up new units in
  suitably economic locations.