Rethinking Waste: The Need for Responsible Garbage Management

ALOK K. SHRIVASTAVA

After eating, we habitually discard leftovers without considering the impact of the waste generated. Many of us tend to burn, bury, or dispose of garbage in drains or water bodies without realizing the harm it causes. While we adhere to cleanliness laws abroad, in India, we often consider it our right to litter public spaces.

Shouldn't we consume less at parties, weddings, festivals, rallies, and religious gatherings? Our wasteful habits, being environmentally unfriendly, contribute to stinking dumps, create public nuisances, and harm the ecosystem. The Swachh Bharat campaign has made some progress, but there is still a long way to go.

We must recognize that waste seeps into groundwater and enters the food chain, leading to increased pest infestations, air pollution, and declining public health.

Hazardous Contamination

Dumping sites not only stink but also pose serious health risks, particularly for children who often play in these areas. Since much of the dumping occurs at night, monitoring and penalizing offenders becomes challenging.

Violation of Environmental Laws

Illegal dumping violates several laws, including the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. However, there remains a significant gap between policy and implementation. 

The Sikkim Scenario

Hilly regions like Sikkim have largely remained untouched by this menace but require well-planned waste management systems. Establishing landfills in all six district headquarters, implementing door-to-door garbage collection in towns, encouraging domestic composting, and setting up recycling plants are crucial. The excellent enforcement of cleanliness laws at M.G. Marg since 1989 is a model worth replicating.

Visible surface garbage can be managed, but buried waste is a greater concern. The challenge lies in preventing relocated waste from being dumped elsewhere. Without accountability, effective waste management remains elusive.

What is Waste?

Waste refers to any unwanted, non-useful material that has been discarded. It can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. Liquid waste includes dirty water, wash water, detergents, organic liquids, and rainwater runoff. Other types include solid rubbish, organic waste, recyclable materials, and hazardous waste.

Types of Waste

Industrial Waste: Chemicals, plastics, and solid residues.

Agricultural Waste: Hay, leaves, and stubble.

Solid Waste: Packaging materials, food scraps, clothing, and household goods.

Organic Waste: Rotten meat, eggs, fish, garden waste, and food scraps.

Kitchen and Household Waste

Kitchen waste includes vegetable peels, fruit waste, used tea leaves, spoiled food, waste paper, napkins, plastic, Styrofoam, glass, and metal objects. Household waste consists of newspapers, books, plastic bottles, bags, envelopes, glass bottles, broken utensils, cans, discarded clothes, and wood products.

Waste Management and the Five Rs

Waste management involves handling waste from its generation to final disposal, including collection, transportation, treatment, and recycling. Effective methods include landfills, waste compaction, incineration, and composting. Domestic composting and landfill usage remain the easiest and most affordable disposal methods.

Recycling transforms waste into usable products through industrial processing. Commonly recycled materials include aluminum, paper, glass, and plastic. Not only can essential products be created, but aesthetically valuable items can also emerge from recycling.

Door-to-Door Garbage Collection

A convenient and efficient approach, door-to-door collection requires prior segregation of dry and wet waste. The goal is to reduce, reuse, and prevent waste. The concept of "Trash to Cash" is gaining popularity, emphasizing sustainable waste management. A serious approach to this can lead to environmental conservation, resource preservation, and pollution reduction.

The five Rs of waste management are:Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle.

Cases of Delhi and Indore

In Delhi, 30 million tons of garbage is generated daily by 18 million residents, but only 10 million tons are cleared. Rapid urbanization and construction have expanded the city's area to 1,484 sq. km. Three major landfill sites—Ghazipur (established in 1984), Bhalswa (1994), and Okhla (1996)—have become environmental hazards. Ghazipur, spanning 70 acres and towering at 236 meters, is taller than the QutubMinar and frequently makes headlines for its mismanagement.

Indore, repeatedly recognized as India's cleanest city, serves as a model for others. Its success stems from effective waste segregation, innovative recycling strategies, and active citizen participation. Similarly, Surat and Navi Mumbai have been acknowledged for their cleanliness and eco-friendly waste management initiatives.

Ghaziabad and Noida

Despite rapid expansion, Ghaziabad and Noida lack proper landfills, leading to indiscriminate dumping in the Hindon and Yamuna rivers. With a high volume of domestic, construction, and demolition waste, the absence of incinerators in many hospitals exacerbates the biomedical waste crisis. The plight of residents under such conditions is concerning.

The Plight of the Aravalli Range

The dumping of garbage along the Aravalli hills in Delhi and Haryana is alarming. While successive governments promise action, the situation remains dire. A recent Rs 3 crore contract was awarded to clear 32,000 tons of waste, but rapid construction in the area continues to degrade the world’s oldest mountain range. The Haryana Environment Minister has initiated an inquiry into waste dumping and an inspection of processing facilities at Palwal, pledging stricter oversight.

Conclusion

Apart from imposing on-the-spot fines and penalizing transporters and contractors, accountability among government officials must be enforced. Public activism against improper waste management is essential. Resident welfare associations, builders, and citizen groups must be effectively sensitized. If schoolchildren can lead movements against firecrackers, they can also be empowered to promote responsible waste disposal practices.

Sustainable waste management is not just a civic duty but an urgent necessity for environmental preservation and public health.