Highlights
- Only 25% of India’s waste scientifically managed: Hardeep Singh Puri
- India can learn from Japan on scientific waste management, said Mr Puri
- The 3R Forum saw participation from representatives of over 40 countries
New Delhi: For a country that produces more than 1.5 lakh tonnes of solid waste daily, scientific interventions are a must to manage such gargantuan proportions of garbage, without which India may soon become a country dotted with landfills. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that India’s capacity to treat its waste scientifically will increase in future. Waste management in India is still majorly restricted to traditional methods of waste collecting and disposing it in landfills, with minimal segregation. The launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014 has led to some degree of sensitisation and awareness campaigns on waste management, resulting in segregation and recycling being adopted across several cities and towns in India.
At the inaugural session of the eighth Regional 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) Forum meet in Asia and the Pacific being held at Indore, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that scientific methods of waste management will become the norm in India in coming days. A mere 25 per cent of India’s waste is currently disposed scientifically, said the Union Minister. At the presence of Tadahiko Ito, Environment Minister of Japan, Mr Puri said that Japan’s progress in managing waste scientifically has been exemplary and India will look forward to Japan’s help in implementing scientific methods of waste management. Japan has implemented a successful waste management system developed on the principles of reusing and recycling, scientifically managing nearly 50 million tonnes of waste per year.
Speaking about scientific waste management the Union Minister said India would be in a much better position to manage waste scientifically in coming years as people have already started to manage waste much better than even a decade back. The country was making significant strides to turn solid waste into manure for biogas generation. Praising Indore, which ranked as India’s cleanest city in Swachh Survekshan 2017, Mr Puri said that it was the citizens who made this feat possible. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of Lok Sabha was also present at the inaugural event and said that Indore’s cleanliness was one of the finest examples of public-private partnership between municipal authorities and the citizens, resulting in the city’s cleanliness.
India is aware of the challenges in achieving cleanliness. The country would play a significant role in achieving sustainable development goals, said Mr Puri.
Over 300 representatives from 41 countries will be participating in the 3R forum, discussing on international cooperation on waste management initiatives. The Forum is expected to generate ideas on how waste could be utilised and more revenue generated from implementing scientific waste management techniques.
Also Read: Turning Garbage Into Objects Of Daily Utility, This Delhi Woman Has Given Upcycling A Creative Spin
With inputs from PTI
George Vurgese
April 15, 2018 at 3:31 pm
I work in the Waste Management Industry in UAE. India has a long way to go in scientifically disposing its waste. Successful implementation the 3R’s require change in mindset of population before heavy investment are made in purchasing equipment, transfer of technology, treatment and disposal facilities. Undoubtedly Japan is considered to have one of the efficient Waste Management systems. But the core of the efficiency is the mindset and level of education in its community. Let me cite an example for it. Few years back I was attending a beach clean up event which had the participation of Japanese students. After the event tetra-packed juice was served as refreshment. These students were noticeably different from others, in the way they disposed the juice containers in the provided waste bins. They drew out the plastic straw from it first. Then they flattened the juice packs so that the space is conserved, before tipping off it in to the receptacle. No one told them to do it the way they did. But it was a part of their habit.