Introduction
Economic growth and dependence on natural resources are the two major factors contributing to the deterioration of India’s environment. In addition, the country is among the most heavily populated in the world. Population pressure, rapid urbanization, immiseration, and corruption has caused severely contaminated air and water supply, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss across the country.
India is a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion and an ever-growing economy. It faces many challenges, one of which is sustainable waste management. The Government has taken some steps to manage the waste problem in India, but various issues still need to be addressed.
Sustainable waste management consists of practices and actions that protect the environment, human health, and future generations. Sustainable waste management includes organizing various types of waste in a way that does not jeopardize their protection.
The objective of sustainable waste management is to prevent wastage and optimize the recovery of resources. Waste management can be achieved by a coordinated, systematic, and sustainable combination of technologies, standards, regulations, and social values. In addition, sustainable waste management aims to ensure that it contributes to financial and environmental sustainability.
What is Sustainable waste management in India?
Sustainable waste management is a process of managing the generation, storage, collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste to reduce the adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
Solid waste management is a complex process that involves the collection, segregation, and disposal of solid waste. It also includes planning for future capacity needs and environmental protection.
A sustainable waste management strategy is to protect public health while reducing environmental impacts such as air pollution caused by decomposition, water pollution caused by stormwater runoff, noise pollution caused by vehicles, littering, and odor problems from open dumpsites.
This article will explore the challenges faced by India concerning sustainable waste management and potential solutions that may help alleviate these issues.
Waste management plan
An effective waste management plan will be a long-term solution to the waste problem in India. It is a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly way of managing the country’s waste. In addition, the plan will address the issue of improper waste disposal and help create awareness about it.
The Indian Government is taking steps toward creating a sustainable waste management plan for the country. They will introduce new policies that will make it easier for people to recycle their trash and reduce their carbon footprint.
Some of the solutions that have been proposed are segregation at source, composting, recycling and reuse of waste, scientific disposal of hazardous waste, and promoting sustainable living habits.
In order to make this plan work, we need to have educated people who can inform others about the importance of segregating their waste effectively. The primary objective is to reduce the amount of garbage being dumped in landfills across India. The Government has identified nine areas where they will implement their plan:
- Have a centralized system for collecting waste from households, commercial establishments, and industries
- Encourage segregation at the source
- Have more recycling plants with state-of-the-art technology
- Introduce new technologies for processing garbage
- Promote cleanliness through awareness programs
- Create more landfill sites with better technology and capacity
The Indian Government has set up a plan to create a sustainable waste management plan. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will execute the strategic plan, and the Ministry of Urban Development. It will be funded by the Central Government and implemented by the States and Union Territories in India.
There are many reasons for this plan, but one is that India generates about 62 million tonnes of waste every year. This number is expected to rise to 111 million tonnes by 2050 if there is no change in waste management practices.
Why is sustainable waste management critical?
Waste management is a process by which trash is collected, transported, treated, or disposed of. Waste management is the first part of the circular economy regarding material flow.
The world has been struggling with waste management for several years, and it doesn’t seem like we are going to find any solution soon. In fact, our situation seems to be getting worse with time. There are many reasons for that, and one of them is that we have been living in a linear economy for so long, and now we need to move towards circularity.
Channelizing waste with proper treatment methods
The term circular economy has been around for a while now. It is a concept that is based on the idea of sustainable, closed-loop production and consumption. The idea is to create an economic system that can keep producing and consuming without endangering natural resources.
We need to channel our waste with proper treatment methods to achieve this. We need to diminish the amount of waste we produce in the first place by changing our lifestyle and behavior patterns. Waste is a significant problem that the world is facing today. It is not just about getting rid of the waste but also about using it efficiently.
The first step towards channeling waste with proper treatment methods is understanding the debris’s nature and composition. The second step would be to find a suitable treatment method for that type of waste.
The third step would be to determine how many resources are required for this particular treatment method and how much it will cost in terms of money, time and effort. And lastly, we need to figure out if all this effort will help solve our problem or not.
Solutions for managing sustainable waste practices
Cities have several challenges in mitigating waste management, including energy-intensive disposal methods, lack of proper infrastructure, and unsanitary conditions. Creative waste management strategies can also play a vital role in helping many metropolitan cities achieve long-term sustainability and improved energy efficiency.
Managing waste is crucial, and when it comes to a large quantity, it becomes the Government’s responsibility or an organization that provides insane support in eliminating the trash and not just dumping it. Some of the sustainable practices which help in maintaining garbage with proper disposal treatments are,
Go Paperless
Avoid the usage of paper & plastic unless it is needful or necessary. Individuals can carry cotton bags or alternative plastic sources, which helps reduce the unwanted deposition of waste.
Plastics
The societal bottlenecks harm the environment and the human lifestyle badly. Single-use plastics are way more dangerous as it takes more than 200 years to decompose, thereby causing soil fertility and water quality.
Recycle
Recycling is the best option to reduce the amount of waste deposited. Recycling eliminates waste and preserves renewable energy from being utilized for manufacturing new products.
The Bottom line
Educating everyone about the importance of waste awareness is needful. Creating awareness campaigns and meetups helps people to know how and where to dispose of waste since we have been doing it for centuries. However, only some know that there are simple ways to reduce our hauling costs, and we can even get great deals on packaging services such as consolidators/degraders/recycling companies.
It is essential to know how much waste we produce, how to manage it, and what forms of recycling are available to help reduce hauling costs. Each of us should need a basic understanding of the amount and types of waste we produce, as well as how to take care of them without generating more waste. The more knowledge we can share, the better we transform the world without waste!
Let’s Stop Donating Waste to Mother Earth.