Managing waste

Landfill sites are the last resort for waste which cannot be recycled. In India, these are considered the ultimate waste management solution, but in the absence of a system of sorting and recycling, all types of trash are dumped. Amid the heatwave, Delhi’s three humongous landfill sites at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur are particularly prone to fires owing to the heavy build-up of methane inside the layers of millions of tonnes of decomposing garbage. The three sites, according to a study submitted to the National Green Tribunal last year, have cost more than Rs 450 crore in environmental degradation, with no noticeable progress to reduce the waste. The landfills have become major sources of pollution, contaminating both air as well as water, as attempts to treat, decongest and recycle fall way short. At least 2,500 metric tonnes of solid waste are dumped daily at the fire-hit Bhalswa landfill, which led to a fine of Rs 50 lakh being slapped on the North Delhi Municipal Corporation for negligence.

Worldwide, most of the research is focused on finding better solutions for both wet and dry waste. India’s recycling industry, too, is expected to grow exponentially by 2025, but the sheer volume of waste generated and dumped calls for technological and scientific solutions that are practical, simpler and doable. Like, treatment of wet garbage at the source of origin and generation of biogas, or use as fertiliser. Housing societies need to be incentivised, perhaps even mandated, to follow the lead of civic-minded individuals who have dug vermicompost pits for organic waste like vegetable peels and egg shells, where soil bacteria and earthworm convert it into rich garbage.

A nationwide ban on single-use plastic has already been put in place, and though change is slow, the quest for solutions should continue. Next could be governmental regulation mandating consumer brand package design that increases recyclability, and subsidising products that are biodegradable or compostable in a short period of time.