INWASTER TIMES
SUMMARY OF WASTE NEWS FOR ZERO WASTE LOVERS !
HUL and UNDP successfully implement robust plastic waste management model in Mumbai
20/09/2020
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has helped collect and segregate dry waste including nearly 2500 tonnes of plastic waste. The program was implemented with the support of the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Consumer Citizen groups such as the Swachh Parle Abhiyan who played an important role in driving awareness around the collection and segregation of plastic waste at source. Over 500 Safai Sathis(waste collectors) onboarded by the project has impacted more than 33,000 households across three wards of Mumbai – K-East (Andheri East), H-West (Bandra West) and R-North (Dahisar). The technology-powered plastic waste material-recovery model will enhance segregation, collection, and recycling of all kinds of plastic waste along the value chain, creating resource efficiency and supporting a circular economy and will soon be scaled up to cover other parts of the city.
NGT considering fining e-commerce firms Amazon, Flipkart for excess plastic use
20/09/2020
In response to a plea filed by a 16-year-old boy, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) expressed its displeasure at the use of excessive of plastic in packaging by e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart, and suggested that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) conduct an environmental audit and then recover fines from the two companies for violating green norms. The green panel also said the CPCB could also consider ordering an environmental audit following due process of law. Plastic Waste Management Rules (2016) defined the duties of e-commerce firms, and Amazon and Flipkart are required to establish a system for collecting back the plastic waste generated due to the packaging of their products, under ‘extended producer responsibility’. But because of the lack of monitoring and implementation of the rules, plastic packaging has become a serious environmental challenge.
Noida Gets Rs 2.5 Cr Facility For Monitoring Waste Management
20/09/2020
Noida’s 'Integrated Control and Command Centre' (ICCC) for solid waste management has come up in Sector 39 premises of the Noida Authority complex with support of the HCL Foundation. The state-of-the-art Rs 2.5 crore facility will allow monitoring of solid waste management, including tracking of door-to-door garbage collection. The ICCC will broadly have three systems for vehicle tracking, incident management and attendance tracking. In-vehicle tracking, there will be monitoring of vehicles engaged in door-to-door garbage collection, mechanical sweeping and other vehicles belonging to the Noida Authority. For incident management, there are 'Noida Citizen Grievance App', 'Swachhta App' besides a 'WhatsApp complaint number' that can be used by the citizens
Waste segregation order for Calcutta complexes
20/09/2020
Bye-laws notified by the State government for Kolkata state that all housing complexes in the city have to segregate waste at source or pay a fine. The residents’ welfare associations of housing complexes, with help from the Municipal Corporation, have to create a mechanism for waste segregation. The bye-laws also make it compulsory for anyone organizing a gathering of 100 or more people in an “unlicensed place”, which can be a house or a ground in the locality, to inform the Calcutta Municipal Corporation about the event and must ensure that waste is segregated before it is handed over to municipal solid waste cleaners. The waste has to be segregated into three categories and put in different bins -- biodegradable or wet waste in green bins, non-biodegradable or dry waste in blue bins and domestic hazardous waste in black bins.
Kerala to implement Rs 2,100cr solid-waste project with World Bank aid
20/09/2020
The Kerala Government will be implementing a solid-waste management project worth Rs 21,00 crore in the state. Local bodies in the state are already receiving funds to the tune of Rs 630 Crore as their share of the project allocation and the remaining amount shall be extended on loan by the World Bank. The project will be implemented in three phases over 6 years. The first one involves empowerment and technical support. In the second phase, preparations would be made at the local level to implement the project and in the final phase, additional resources will be arranged for sanitation. The project also aims to coordinate eco-friendly activities in the areas where they are implemented. Moreover, there would be a system to hear the grievances of local people and find solutions.
Godrej Agrovet recognized as an “Innovative Environmental Project” for their efforts in Waste Management
20/09/2020
The Godrej Agrovet Oil Palm Plantation (OPP) plant in Seethanagram was honored with the “CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020” and recognized as an “Innovative Environmental Project” for their efforts in Waste Management earlier last month. Over 99% of the plant’s energy comes from renewable sources and the plant sends no waste to landfills. All organic waste from the palm fruit bunches are either processed and reused in the plant boiler fuel (renewable energy) or sold off. The Godrej Agrovet plant in Chintampalli has also been honored as an “Excellent Energy Efficient Unit” at the 21st National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2020 based on its performance and achievement in energy efficiency.
Uniforms and ID cards for Ghaziabad ragpickers
20/09/2020
To integrate ragpickers into the organized sector with recycled product manufacturers, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation has decided to register them with the department and give them a uniform and identity cards. The GMC will also buy waste plastic, iron and paper from the estimated 12,000 ragpickers in the district a little over market rates, and use them for manufacturing roads, flowerpots, file holders, benches, among other items which are needed by the civic body to maintain parks and meet office requirements. The corporation also plans to assist them in opening bank accounts, so that money for their products is paid daily. Apart from ragpickers, scrap dealers and units manufacturing recycled products will also be integrated.
Nirmalaya collection drive moves from ghats to doorsteps in Pune
08/09/2020
Citizens in Pune this year were able to handover Nirmalya (dried and leftover Puja offerings) to SWaCH waste pickers at their doorstep to be sent for organic composting separately. Nirmalya collection was done on the important days of visarjan, on 30th August and 2nd September. Every year waste-pickers of SWaCH in partnership with PMC, and other corporate partners collect Nirmalya at Visarjan ghats and help divert 100+ Tonnes of Nirmalya from rivers towards composting. This year due to the Covid 19 situation, the waste collection agency distributed 11,000 special bags to their network of 3500 waste pickers just for Nirmalya collection and requested citizens to hand over the Nirmalya offerings to their Door Step SWaCH waste-picker to be sent for organic composting.
Sudha Murthy offers 1 crore donation for Tirupati waste management
08/09/2020
Board member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Sudha Narayana Murthy has offered Rs 1 crore donation to the TTD for adopting a sophisticated technology for the conversion of garbage on the Tirumala hill into compost. The board has proposed to provide the compost generated to be supplied to farmers on a no-profit basis. The board is also considering to donate one cow to each temple under the TTD control. This is aimed at the promotion of cow protection.
Hulladek recycling starts green ambassador program for Kolkata students
08/09/2020
Kolkata based e-waste management company Hulladeck has launched a 1 month volunteer program for students aged 15 and above. The ‘Green Ambassador Program’ aims to create awareness about recycling, e-waste management and sustainability among the city students, by providing them exposure in exposure in digital marketing and social media, public relations, corporate communication, in regards to start-ups and e-waste management projects. The students will work online from their homes at their convenience and at the end of the program submit a report on their project. Successful students will be given a certificate at the end of the program.
Residents of Mysuru RWA solve problem of waste management by themselves
08/09/2020
Residents of a locality on the outskirts of Mysuru city, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Layout II Stage, have come up with a solution themselves for the efficient disposal and management of waste. Tired of the apathetic attitude of both the administrative and the civic bodies towards sanitation and waste disposal facilities, the residents decided to take action themselves. They got together to start ‘Samana Manaskara Vedike’ to oversee the collection and disposal of solid waste. The outfit collected Rs 50 per household per month, and with the money collected, an auto-tipper was arranged to collect the waste generated in the locality which was subsequently dispatched to the nearest solid waste management (SWM) unit.
IIT Madras develops new method to dispose of toxic pharmaceutical waste
08/09/2020
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and researchers from Stuttgart University, Germany have developed a new method that can be used to safely dispose of toxic pharmaceutical wastewater sludge. The technique developed called ‘co-composting’ helps degrade pharmaceuticals and personal care products, that are less susceptible to biodegradation, with the addition of mixed organic waste and coir pith during septage composting by providing an appropriate conducive environment for significant carbamazepine removal. The institute claims that In-vessel 'co-composting' of septage can be considered as a resource recovery option for septage treatment. Such 'co-composting' facilities have been established in various villages across India and the team is in talks with the Centre for setting up more such facilities.
Pune 15th cleanest city in India in Swachh Survekshan 2020
08/09/2020
Pune has ranked 15th in the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 rankings, a significant improvement over last year’s 37th rank. Along with the PMC officials, the Municipal Corporation also roped in private players for improving the performance. An agency was appointed to conduct a survey for Swachh Bharat Mission in a bid to make Pune the cleanest city. The civic body also organized multiple awareness drives to increase its ranking and along with initiatives such as murals bearing messages of the importance of cleanliness, human chains, and a ‘plog-a-thon’ in which 19 tonnes of garbage was collected. PMC’s elected members also went on a study tour of Indore, to learn from their successful initiatives.
Indore adjudged India's cleanest city for the fourth straight year
08/09/2020
Indore, the industrial hub of Madhya Pradesh, was adjudged India's cleanest city in the central government’s cleanliness survey Swachh Sarvekshan 2020 for the fourth straight year. The survey was conducted in 4,242 cities in the country in which 1.9 crore people gave their opinions. The city has a capacity to dispose of about 1,200 tonnes of waste - 550 tonnes of wet and 650 tonnes of dry waste in a secured manner daily and nearly 8,500 sanitation staffers work in three shifts- from 6 am to 4 am- daily to clean the city. The city has no waste collection containers and nearly 700 vehicles of the civic body collect dry and wet waste, including diapers and sanitary napkins, and segregate them for their safe disposal. Participation of over 35 lakh population, hard work of 8,500 sanitation workers, innovative steps taken for waste management and its processing and key financial measures helped Indore get the top position.
Ramky Enviro commences Sagar Municipal Solid Waste management project
08/09/2020
India’s leading environmental services provider, Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL) commenced an integrated waste management project at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The plant will facilitate novel waste management methods using high-end technological solutions. It will deploy modern systems for door-to-door collection of waste, transfer station management and a processing and disposal facility. A cluster of 10 urban local bodies (ULBs) namely, Sagar, Grahakota, Rahatgarh, Banda, Rehli, Deori, Shahgarh, Shahpur, Makronia and Bina will be serviced by the plant thus managing around 350 metric tonnes (MT) of municipal solid waste every day. The project, being implemented at a cost of over Rs 70 crore, includes the construction of a processing plant at Sagar and one transfer station at each of the 10 participating ULBs.
Uttarakhand govt starts the process of setting up six plants for generating electricity from solid waste
26/08/2020
To take an advanced step towards solid waste management, the Uttarakhand government has started working on projects to generate electricity from solid waste in the state. Madan Kaushik, minister for urban development in the state has asked officials to make a detailed plan regarding the setting up of six plants in Roorkee, Rudrapur, Kashipur, Haldwani, Rishikesh and Kotdwar where electricity can be generated from solid waste in the state. As per the records of the pollution control board, around 300 megawatts of electricity can be generated from the waste generated in the state. Under the project, a biogas plant is to be set up with the help of the Indian Oil Corporation in Haridwar and a waste-to-energy plant in Roorkee.
South Delhi Municipal Corporation gets Rs 43 crore for dust, waste management
26/08/2020
To implement dust combating measures and augment waste management facilities, South Delhi Municipal Corporation has received Rs 43 crore from the Centre under the urban development fund (UDF) scheme for the current financial year. The fund will be utilized for strengthening and resurfacing damaged roads at 12 places, with the expected cost to be around Rs 20 crore. Regarding the development of 15 decentralized waste treatment plants and laying pipelines at different places, Rs 7 crore has been allocated. Meanwhile, Rs 3.7 crore and Rs 12 crore has been earmarked for buying five electric roads sweeping machines and for installing drum composters for solid waste treatment at the ward level, respectively.
Ecowrap and Adva Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd among top 10 Tech-based Social Enterprises focused on SDG
26/08/2020
Atal Incubation Centre at the International Institute of Information Technology (AIC-IIITH) has selected 10 startups for its flagship Akash incubation program for tech-based social enterprises working on Sustainable Development goals. AIC-IIITH received 100 applications from 17 states, out of which 17 were selected for the final round. Ecowrap and Adva Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd are among the top 10 Tech-based Social Enterprises selected. Adva Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd is fighting water crisis in India through mass action approach using innovative water conservation techniques to make ground water-rich and promote people to conserve rainwater. Ecowrap is an end-to-end integrated waste management solution for the Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes (HORECA) sector to address illegal dumping of waste into landfills causing pollution.
North Eastern Frontier Railways initiatives for environment-friendly waste management
26/08/2020
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has undertaken a number of environment-friendly projects for disposal of solid waste generated at railway terminals. Segregation of Multiple Solid Waste at 10 locations across NFR namely Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Rangiya, Kamakhya, Guwahati, Lumding, Dimapur, New Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Silchar is already in operation. An Incinerator has been installed at Kamakhya Coaching Depot and Bio-digester plants installed in Guwahati and Maligaon. A bio-methanation plant at the NF Railway Central Hospital in Maligaon is also under installation and planned to be commissioned shortly. The average Bio-gas generation per day will be 9.0 cum for per plant of 50 kg capacity and the total Biogas generation will be 18.0 cum for 100 kg plant which is equivalent to half LPG commercial cylinder and can be used for various purposes.
PM Modi inaugurates Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra and a week-long garbage-free India campaign
26/08/2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra, an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission, on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Gandhiji's Champaran Satyagraha. The Swachh Bharat Mission has transformed rural sanitation in India and has changed the behaviors of over 55 crore people from open defecation to using a toilet. The installations at RSK will introduce future generations to the successful journey of the world's largest behaviour change campaign, through a balanced mix of digital and outdoor installations. On the occasion, he also Launched a week-long garbage-free India campaign in the run up to Independence Day, called Gandagi Mukt Bharat.
IGNOU offers a certificate course in Solid Waste Management
26/08/2020
To overcome the problems of waste management, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has begun a certificate programme in Solid Waste Management from the July 2020 session. The objective of the programme is to sensitize the learners about the problem of waste generation and its impact on the environment and human health. It also aims to familiarize the learners with existing legislation, knowledge, and practices regarding Waste Management in the country. The duration of the programme is a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years and offered through distance learning mode in Hindi. Interested and eligible candidates can apply for the programme online at ignouadmission.samarth.edu.in on or before August 16, 2020.
Housing societies devise Covid waste rules for Calcutta
26/08/2020
State pollution control board guidelines speak about the segregated collection of biohazardous waste and solid waste from Covid-hit families, but most housing societies have devised their own methods to collect and dispose of such waste.
An upscale housing complex in south Calcutta and many others along the bypass have prepared their own waste management protocol, which includes a daily collection of waste from the Covid-hit family by members of their staff in PPEs and dumping it in the common vat where garbage from others flats is dumped.
Disposed PPE could be turned into biofuel, say, Indian scientists
26/08/2020
According to a study, published in the journal Biofuels, billions of items of disposable PPE can be converted from its plastic state into biofuels using a high-temperature chemical process called pyrolysis. According to the researchers, when plastic materials like PPE are discharged into the environment they end up in landfills or oceans, as their natural degradation is difficult at ambient temperature. In the study, the scientists explored the current policies around the disposal of PPEs, their polypropylene content, and the feasibility of converting them into biofuel. Based on their analysis, the scientists call for the PPE waste to be converted into fuel using pyrolysis -- a chemical process for breaking down the plastic at high temperature between 300 to 200 degree Celsius for an hour without oxygen.
Singapore-based NGO to invest up to $100 mn on environmental projects in India
12/08/2020
Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a Singapore-based-NGO working in the environmental sector, plans to invest between USD 70 million to 100 million in India over the next five years to majorly reduce plastic waste, according to the top official of the organization. The Alliance is already working on many projects with more in the pipeline; the latest being the Aviral Reducing Plastic Waste in the Ganga Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The initiative, which was announced on July 28, coinciding with Nature Conservative Day, aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment in the northern Indian cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh.
Waste pickers from Delhi-NCR write to Centre for inclusiveness rights
12/08/2020
A group of over 12,000 waste pickers, doorstep waste collectors and other recyclers from Delhi-NCR belonging to the group ‘Safai Sena’ have written to the center in response to the United Framework for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. Their letter addresses the need for more inclusiveness for waste pickers along with a well-defined role in the framework. The EPR makes producers accountable for recycling the waste being generated but it needs to be focused around waste pickers instead of pivoting around producer responsibility organizations (PROs). There are approximately 1,000-4,000 informal and unregistered plastic recycling and manufacturing units in India and the government have to ensure that these do not get shut down and instead are upgraded for more efficient plastic recycling.
Low-Cost Bedrolls Made by Upcycling Scrap from PPE Manufacturers
12/08/2020
Lakshmi Menon a well-known eco-innovator in Ernakulam, Kerala has come up with an eco-friendly mattress named Shayya, that aims to solve two pressing issues: waste management and the lack of bedding at many COVID care centers. These lightweight bedrolls are made from the scraps of the material leftover from the stitching of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) gowns. The material contains plastic and has to be disposed of or recycled by a professional agency which small tailors cannot afford, so they burn it. The method of making these mattresses requires no thread or needle, and the bed remains strong and sturdy. The material is water-proof, and it can be cleaned by washing in soap water and allowing it to dry. The beds are utilizing scrap materials and also providing livelihood to women who lost jobs due to the COVID 19 situation.
Punjab to use bar codes for managing infectious biomedical waste
12/08/2020
To ensure the scientific management of biomedical waste, the Bar code system is being used in all government and private hospitals across the State. GPS systems have also been installed in vehicles which carry the waste to the Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (CBWTF). This mechanism is proving a milestone to save the environment of Punjab and prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and Hepatitis among the populations. Dedicated State advisory committee and District Level monitoring committees are constituted in all the districts as per the guidelines and regular meetings are being conducted to ensure the scientific management of biomedical waste across the State.
RMRC Bhubaneswar develops UV sanitized dustbin
12/08/2020
Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) Bhubaneswar has developed a UV sanitized dustbin with the help of a start-up Home Act. The dustbin has ultraviolet (UV) lights which can neutralize the virus and other pathogens making it safe to handle the waste. The dustbin has a sensor that opens the flap on the dustbin if anybody throws waste materials into it. After a few seconds, the flap automatically gets closed. After the waste materials enter into it, the sensors fitted in the bin switch on UV lights for a considerable period to neutralize the virus. The dustbin neutralizes all the pathogens in it and makes it safe to be handled by the sanitation workers for proper disposal. Also, if any person goes near to the dustbin, the UV lights get switched off, making it safe to use it.
