Syllabus: GS2/ Governance, GS3/ Environment
Context
- The Supreme Court emphasized that waste segregation at source is crucial for environmental health and must begin at the household level.
- Waste segregation refers to the systematic separation of different types of waste at the point of generation to facilitate proper disposal, recycling, and treatment.
Importance of Waste Segregation
- Reducing Landfill Burden: Proper segregation minimizes the amount of waste sent to landfills, thereby reducing land pollution and methane emissions.
- Enhancing Recycling: Effective separation allows organic waste to be composted and non-biodegradable materials to be recycled, promoting a circular economy.
- Preventing Pollution: Mixed waste leads to toxic leachate and harmful emissions, contaminating soil, water, and air. Segregation helps in safe disposal and treatment of hazardous materials.
- Waste-to-Energy Efficiency: Segregated waste ensures better efficiency of waste-to-energy plants, as contaminants in mixed waste reduce energy output and cause operational issues.
Challenges in Implementing Waste Segregation
- Lack of Public Awareness: Many households do not follow waste segregation due to limited awareness and behavioral inertia.
- Inadequate Infrastructure: Many urban and rural areas lack proper collection and processing facilities, leading to mixed waste dumping.
- Weak Enforcement of Rules: Despite the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, enforcement at municipal levels remains weak due to limited accountability and resources.
- Resistance from Waste Handlers: Informal waste pickers and sanitation workers lack incentives and training to handle segregated waste efficiently.
Government initiatives
- Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016: Mandates segregation of waste at source into biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and domestic hazardous waste.
- Promotes waste processing through composting, bio-methanation, and waste-to-energy technologies.
- Encourages bulk waste generators (housing societies, hotels, etc.) to process their own waste.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM):SBM-Urban focuses on 100% door-to-door waste collection and encourages source segregation.
- SBM-Rural promotes biodegradable waste composting and bio-gas plants in villages.
- Waste-to-Energy Projects: The government is encouraging waste-to-energy plants to convert non-recyclable waste into electricity.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Under EPR rules, manufacturers and producers must take responsibility for managing post-consumer waste (e.g., plastic waste, e-waste).
| Successful examples in waste Management – Indore, consistently ranked India’s cleanest city under Swachh Survekshan, has demonstrated that strict enforcement like 100% Source Segregation, Processing Infrastructure etc. can transform urban waste management. – Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, has adopted a ‘Zero Waste’ model, where Women-led self-help groups (SHGs) manage solid waste collection and processing. – Pune’s SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling) model has successfully integrated waste pickers into formal waste collection, ensuring livelihood security. |
Way Forward
- Strict Enforcement Norms: Authorities must impose penalties for non-segregation and incentivize compliance.
- Strengthening Infrastructure: Investment in decentralized waste processing units at community levels can improve efficiency.
- Technology-Driven Solutions: Adoption of smart waste management systems, AI-based sorting, and RFID tracking can streamline waste processing.
- Integrating informal waste pickers into municipal frameworks can enhance segregation and recycling.
Source: TH
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