Waste management in India has had its challenges due to a number of factors leading to difficulties on the ground. Even in the year 2020, we have thousands of unregulated dumpsites. The Government of India had notified six different waste management rules in 2016, addressing each type of waste. Simultaneously the Government published ‘Municipal Solid Waste Manual’ in the same year. There have been a number of publications from the Central Pollution Control Board from time to time to facilitate the sector. Yet implementation has been lagging. The Government launched a flagship program ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ (Clean India Mission) with huge financial outlay.
One would appreciate that for overall cleanliness and optimal benefits for health and hygiene, the different types of waste material need to be properly stored (segregated storage), collected, processed and the ultimate waste disposed – all in scientific manner. For example, take an urban area, where municipal solid waste, waste water, construction and demolition waste, biomedical waste, plastics waste, electronic and electrical waste (e-waste), battery waste and hazardous waste from surrounding industries – all get generated in different proportion and amount depending upon the ground reality.
The sector as a whole has huge stress factors and fault lines : reticence in paying adequately for the waste one creates, lack of institutional capability for proper planning, execution and follow-up till the last day of the concession agreement etc. Digitisation has brought in some improvement, such as improved transparency but lot more needs to be done in terms of capacity building – technical, managerial and financial.
The novel Corona virus 2019 has precipitated these problems multi-fold due to the pandemic, due to the lockdown and the uncertainties associated. The waste workers have become highly vulnerable from the infected waste material.
This webinar is an attempt to bring together renowned experts from different waste management sectors to find solutions for post COVID 19 and assurances for the public, the industries and the businesses. We must find out how we are going to transcend into the ‘new normal’ for waste management in a sustainable manner.
Discussion Points on the ‘new normal’ in waste management:
| 11:00-11:05 hrs. | Welcome Address Dr. Anil K. Garg, CEO, Energy and Environment Foundation |
| 11:05-11:25 hrs. | Chair and Moderator ‘Can Smart and Sustainable Waste Management Lead to Wealth Creation Post COVID 19?’ Dr. N. B. Mazumdar, Hon. Chairman, International Academy of Environmental Sanitation and Public Health, New Delhi |
| 11:25-11:40 hrs. | Managing Municipal Solid Waste in the context of COVID 19 Mr. P. U. Asnani, Chairman, UMC Global, Ahmedabad |
| 11:40-11:55 hrs. | Biomedical Waste Management in the context of COVID 19 Mr. Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link |
| 11:55-12:10 hrs. | Issues Related to Waste Workers Post COVID 19 Dr. Vivek Agrawal, Managing Trustee, Centre for Development Communications and Chairman, Institute of Chartered Waste Managers & National Member of ISWA |
| 12:10-12:25 hrs. | Global Perspectives on waste in post COVID-19 times Ms Aditi Ramola, Technical Director (Projects and Partnerships), ISWA |
| 12:25-12:40 hrs. | Biogas and Waste Management Technology Mr. Mainak Chakraborty, CEO, GPS Renewables, Bangalore |
| 12:40-13:10 hrs. | Interaction |
| 13:00-13:15 hrs. | 13:00-13:15 hrs. Dr. N. B. Mazumdar, Chairman, International Academy of Environmental Sanitation and Public Health |
The webinar was about the ‘new normal’ in a difficult and multi-dimensional sector like waste management. The speakers were the top experts and professionals in their respective domains in India. There was one speaker from outside India – the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).
In the first presentation, Dr Mazumdar spoke about the stringency brought about by the incidence of COVID 19. The different types of solid waste, such as, municipal, bio-medical, construction and demolition waste, plastics waste, electronic waste and hazardous waste were discussed in brief, focusing on the prospects of making the projects viable on long term basis and to get the projects past the end of concession agreement period. Download Presentation
Mr Asnani’s presentation concentrated on municipal solid waste management. He highlighted on the mandates to the waste generators followed by mandate to the municipal authorities. He followed with the new dimensions brought about by the incidence of COVID 19. Further his presentation discussed about necessary measures, like training to the municipal staff, provision of special protective gears (PPE kits, sanitizers etc.), awareness generation for the public and finally about the safety measures like maintaining social distancing by the waste collectors. Download Presentation
Mr Satish Sinha dealt with the most important waste during the COVID 19 incidence – the management of biomedical waste. He explained his points by citing actual projects, case studies and data about biomedical waste generation. Mr Sinha explained the implication of the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 as well as its precursor notified in the year 1998. Lack of credible data was highlighted. Finally, the road ahead for the management of biomedical waste was discussed. Download Presentation
Dr Vivek Agrawal took up one of the biggest challenges during the pandemic – the issue related to occupational safety of the waste workers during COVID 19. He started by highlighting the hazards in municipal solid waste management from collection to processing and finally disposal, faced by the waste workers. He described the occupational exposures faced by them. He discussed about the areas of concern – safety, contact, climatic conditions and appropriateness of the safety gears used by the waste workers. As a medical professional himself, he delved into the various types of ailments – musculoskeletal, dermal, major injuries reported, common diseases observed, such as, diarrhea, chest diseases, bronchitis, asthma, wheezing, phlegm and cough etc. Further, safety gears and sanitization was discussed for each activity, PPE, managing occupational health and safety in the context of COVID 19. Innovative collection equipment and different types of machines used for various SWM activities were described. He summarized his talk by discussing about minimizing human interface, proper segregation at source, appropriate safety gears and use of more technology. Download Presentation
Dr Aditi Ramola discussed about the interface of global waste management with ISWA, especially in the context of COVID 19. ISWA has issued a number of guidance documents for the COVID 19 situation. ISWA has 3 priorities – carrying on waste management activities without disruption with additional protection measures for the personnel, readjustment of recycling activities to minimize risks of cross-contamination and handling of the additional quantum of medical waste. She discussed about the protective equipment. Download Presentation
The last presentation was by Mr Mainak Chakraborty from GPS Renewables, wherein he discussed about in-situ organic waste processing and captive affordable bioenergy at different scale. He described the various challenges faced by the sector and the endeavours and success stories of his company. He described about their patented ‘bio health checker’ for a biomethanation plant, which enables them to control the process by remote control. They have developed a ‘biogasbot’, which mimics a biogas expert for decision making. They have developed systems which require small footprint. Finally, he described how biogas technology could treat biodegradable waste safely during the COVID 19 era and how the technology could contribute towards making the country ‘Atmanirbhar’. Download Presentation
The interaction session was quite interesting and interactive with lots of questions from the attendees.
The Chairman (Dr Mazumdar) rounded off the webinar by summarizing the presentation and with the hope that these would kindle further interest amongst waste management professionals.