Recyle waste, follow Japan's module for checking pollution: ex-KSPCB chief

“We should emulate Japan in checking pollution. Japan plans to ban one time use of materials, including drinking water bottles. This should be implemented in India too to check pollution,” B Shivalingaiah, former chairman of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) said.

During a conference on ‘Industrial Waste Management’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Department of Industries and Commerce and KSPCB, here, recently, he said that, “People are using water as a vehicle to throw their unwanted materials. Due to pollution, the lifespan of rivers like Narmada, Ganga, Krishna and Cauvery has got reduced. Only 3% of water on earth is usable while the rest 97% is unusable.”

Arjun Ranga, chairman of CII-Mysuru, said that, “If we stick to our current waste management practices, India will require a land of 1,400 km square, equivalent to the size of Delhi, for dumping waste by 2047. India’s urban population is currently 32.8%, that is 440 million. It is projected to go up to 590 million by 2030. An estimated 55 million tonnes of solid waste and approximately 6,000 million cubic meter of liquid waste is generated annually in urban areas of India, which is increasing at a rate of 1.5% per annum.”

“The quantum of industrial waste generation is also high. More than 8 million tonnes per annum is India’s present hazardous waste generation. Maharashtra (22.84%), Gujarat (22.68%) and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh put together (13.75%) are the leading states in hazardous waste generation, followed by Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Just these seven states contribute to nearly 82% of the hazardous waste generated in the country,” he said.

“However, it has been estimated that there is a good potential for power generation (about 225 MW from all sewage and about 1,460 MW from municipal solid waste), of about 1,700 MW. At present, only about 24 MW has been exploited, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), which is less than 1.5% of the total potential,” Ranga pointed out.

“Of late, there is an increased concern on e-waste. The current e-waste generation pattern is 1.7 million tonne per annum, with an alarming growth rate of 15% each year. The major concern in terms of management of e-waste is more than 90% of the available e-waste that continues to be recycled in the informal sector in the by-lanes of cities and towns. However, if recycled scientifically, 95-98% of the materials can be recovered and put back in the process of material flow. The business potential for e-waste is estimated at Rs 700 crore,” he added.

B M Prakash, Environmental Officer, KSPCB, Mysuru, said, “The growing urbanisation and pursuit for faster economic development, particularly in growing economies, are leading to unprecedented growth in all kinds of wastes — e-waste, industrial hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. The total amount of waste generated annually worldwide is more than 4 billion tonne and the municipal solid waste is between 1.6 to 2.0 billion tonne. Waste recycling is the most important sector in terms of employment creation and employs 12 million people in just three countries — Brazil, China and the US”.