India has some really serious waste management problems. Most of us don’t have a clue where the kachra that we dump in bins goes and care even less. Yet shouldn’t we know where our kitchen waste, plastic garbage, waste from our bathrooms and even toxic waste is going? Shouldn’t we know about sewage treatment plants, landfills and so on? Shouldn’t we be aware of solutions to these problems?
Entering so many of India’s towns and cities, one is greeted with the sight of what appears to be a hill, but is literally a stinking mountain of garbage with smoke spiralling out of it and thousands of birds circling above. Our landfills are overflowing, their toxic impact on earth, air and water not even fully understood!
Our sewage treatment, waste collection, management and disposal systems are woefully inadequate. With a burgeoning urban population, this is set to worsen. A recent study warns that by 2050 we will need about 88 square km of land to be used as landfills.
It should horrify us that little children are sorting decaying, often toxic waste by hand, that human beings are still physically removing excreta from dry toilets as a means to earn a few rupees. This is illegal but it continues unchecked for the most part.
Most wet kitchen waste can be easily turned into good quality organic manure with the help of worms. Vermiculture is a composting process that uses earthworms, red wigglers and other types of worms to turn food waste, paper, leaves, grass clippings etc into natural fertilizer. It can also be used for treating municipal sewage.
Our Indian habit of using dried leaves to create disposable plates is a great idea. We need to revert to this and give the plastic cups and Styrofoam plates a miss.
The solution of bio-mining has been suggested for the Deonar dump in Mumbai that presents health risks, pollutes land and water and is also a constant fire hazard. Here old waste is loosened by a tractor, sprayed with composting bio culture and turned into compost.
In Mumbai’s Kanjur Marg, a project could turn waste into electricity. A Gauscor engine made in Spain can transform methane into electricity. This was tried before at Gorai but did not succeed.
Simple things like carrying your own bag and refusing to accept the thin plastic bags from the grocers can help significantly help households reduce daily plastic waste. Repair and repurpose items so that you don’t just throw stuff away. Find out about local charities to donate old clothes and books. Separate your garbage so that plastic, metal and glass can be recycled, organic waste can be composted. Ensure that no one in your family litters and throws garbage around. We can also take responsibility for our dirty rivers and prevent any more garbage getting into our water bodies.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
