Sustainable Futures: A Waste Management Perspective - India

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved

Sustainable Futures: A Waste Management Perspective - India

Prepared by: Ankush Samant & Prashant VuthaICE, India.


Table of Contents

• Introduction to waste management in India– Why waste management?– Classification of waste– (Re)Uses of waste– Stakeholders involved in waste management

• Global scenario• Global trends• Waste management challenges in India and proposed

solutions


Introduction – Why Waste Management?

• Urban India generates 188,500 tonnes per day (TPD) of waste at an average rate of 0.5 kg of waste per person per day.

• The increasing waste generation has a link to the increasing GDP. As per capita income increases the spending power increases that results in increased waste generation.

• Urban India produces 68 million tons of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) per year, which is a 50% increase in waste generation since 2001.

• At this rate, urban India will generate 160.5 million tons per year by 2041!

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Classification of Waste

• Organics – 51%• Inert Waste (Dust and

related waste materials) – 31%

• Recyclables (paper, plastic, metal, glass) – 17.5%

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Organics

Inert Waste

Recyclables


Waste As Per City Type

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37%

24%

8%

5%

4%

5%

6%

5%

6%

Percentage Share of Waste

Metro Class A Class B Class C Class D

Class E Class F Class G Class H

Source of Data: http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Sustainable%20Solid%20Waste%20Management%20in%20India_Final.pdf

http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Sustainable%20Solid%20Waste%20Management%20in%20India_Final.pdf



Urban Waste: (Re)Uses

Current techniques to use waste:

• Recycling – Reuse of materials that are not biodegradable. E.g., plastic.

• Aerobic Composting – A way to treat kitchen and garden waste that otherwise would have been dumped at landfills.

• Small Scale Biomethanation – Conversion of organic material into biogas through biological processes. Residue can be used as agricultural manure. Biogas has numerous uses.

• Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) – Fuel produced using waste as raw material, using mostly combustibles (plastics) and biodegradable materials.

• Waste to Energy (WTE) – Conversion of waste into electricity or heat for commercial purposes.

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Stakeholders Involved

1. Study of waste in urban households

2. Policies & guidelines

3. Seek funding to set up waste treatment plants

4. Technical guidance & feasibility study

5. Proposal submission for plant set-up

6.Implementing waste management programs

POLICY MAKERS

URBAN & LOCAL BODIES

COMMON USERS


Lifecycle Of Waste

Collection through NGOs - 70-90% waste 90% of the collected waste is dumped at landfills

10-20% of the collected waste in landfills is openly

burnt

Such open burning of waste releases 22,000 tons of pollutants every

year…this is only in Mumbai!

Waste segregation at source still a

major problem


Global Scenario & Trends

Global Waste Management Trends


Global Scenario

India has alliances for knowledge transfer with

Sweden & Denmark


Bottle Bank Arcade, Sweden

Many people throw away their plastic bottles and cans. Very few people recycle their glass bottles. One reason is that we don’t get appropriate value in return for our cans and plastic bottles.

An idea was proposed in the Fun Theory competition, an initiative of German automaker Volkswagen. A machine was developed to gamify the activity of collection of waste bottles, so that people are not just rewarded with a good conscience but also get a smile in return. Bottle bank arcade glass recycling is an innovation in which a glass bottle collection bin was refitted to resemble an arcade machine.


Plastic Gold, Cameroon

Constance Gubong Tangu was tired of seeing plastic waste clog the streets and streams of Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s Northwest region. So in 2010, Tangu, a teacher and craftswoman, became an environmental entrepreneur. She decided to transform the city’s waste into jewelry.

She and four friends started the New Era Foundation in 2010. The organization oversees several environmental projects in Bamenda and trains women to produce jewelry from recycled paper and plastic.


Waste Creates Music, Paraguay

Social worker Favio Chávez was looking to provide local children in Caterura, Paraguay an activity to keep them occupied and away from garbage heaps. He came up with an interesting project along with a garbage picker named Nicolás Gómez. The project was to create musical instruments using waste as the raw material.

The large landfill provides the waste materials that are used to make musical instruments such as violins, drum sets and cellos. These instruments are then sold to generate revenues.

Now a group of filmmakers, producers, and photographers are trying to tell the story of the orchestra through a documentary titled Landfill Harmonic.


Waste Cloth As a Resource, India

Goonj – mobilizing urban waste cloth and repositioning the same for rural India

One of the preliminary causes of death in India is lack of proper clothing. Also million(s) of rural women are forced to use unhygienic means due to non-affordability of quality sanitary pads.

Goonj uses vast quantities of underutilized or waste cloth from urban homes as a resource to cater to the clothing and other basic needs of the rural and poor community.


Vertical Garden From Soda Bottles, Brazil

This vertical garden was created as part of the TV show Lar Doce Lar (Home Sweet Home), in which producer Luciano Huck and the designers at Rosenbaum collaborated to transform the homes of several dozen poor Brazilian families.

The beautiful vertical garden is made out of hundreds of recycled soda bottles. The bottles are suspended on the wall of a walkway outside the home and contain edible plants like lettuce and herbs so the family can grow their own organic vegetables. The response to the Rodriguez family's wall garden was so overwhelming that Rosenbaum eventually released the garden design plans so people could build their own.

The design plan - http://www.rosenbaum.com.br/blog/rosenbaum-responde-ldl-48-horta-vertical/

http://www.rosenbaum.com.br/blog/rosenbaum-responde-ldl-48-horta-vertical/




Landscaping With Printer Cartridges, Australia

It is very difficult to recycle Printer cartridges. They are often complex bits of equipment with lots of small components made from different types of plastic and metal. So, even after extracting reusuable materials recyclers are left with a mix of plastics that is effectively unusable.

An Australian company ‘Close the Loop’ came up with eWood. It looks like hardwood, feels like hardwood and can be worked and shaped like hardwood, but it's actually made from the leftover bits of plastic from printer cartridges that is melted down and extruded into bars. It is safe to use in gardens, as Close the Loop uses a method that gets rid of the brominated flame retardants present in plastics. Hence, the plastic is 100 percent recycled.


Biodiversity From Waste, SingaporeThe island nation of Singapore faces some

unique challenges in waste management. Space is at a premium on this densely populated island, and with the country's last remaining landfill approaching capacity in 1999, the government needed an alternative solution.

The government implemented a recycling program that took care of around 54 per cent of waste, and an incineration program for most of the remaining waste. This resulted in ash as the leftover.

This was when an innovative idea of the world’s first offshore landfill was conceived. Pulau Semakau a new island is built with sealed cells filled with incinerated rubbish. Semakau landfill receives about 1400 tonnes of incineration ash and 600 tonnes of non-incinerable waste everyday.

But Pulau Semakau is far more than a dump. A careful waste management program has been in place that has made this island a bio-diversity hotspot- home to flourishing mangroves, rich coral reefs and a wealth of bird and marine life. It has even become a tourist attraction in its own right.


Redistribution Of Medicine, USAWhile 1 out of 3 adults in the

United States does not have the means or access to prescription medicines, a staggering $5 billion of usable medicine ends up being destroyed in incinerators!

Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine (SIRUM) is a social enterprise started by Stanford University students to decrease the amount of medicine and medical supplies that go to waste by redistributing unused, non-expired drugs to free and low cost medical clinics.

SIRUM’s online platform connects health facilities, manufacturers and wholesalers to people with needs in safety-net clinics. SIRUM also coordinates the logistics including itemized drug manifests, tracking and shipping.


Reverse Logistics of Food, USA

In a survey by the NRDC in USA, it was discovered that 30% of the fruit produce never makes it out of the farm because they are not “visually correct for large retail entities.” Grocery stores throw out 43 billion pounds of food each year. About $15 billion worth of produce is unused or in excess of the demand.

FoodStar (USA), offers a solution in the same way that a discount clothing retailer sources factory overruns. FoodStar teamed up with the California grocery chain Andronico’s- customers were able to buy these fruits at hugely discounted prices. Instead of becoming cattle feed or garbage, these apples actually reached people.


Waste : Form of Art, USA

Founded by photographer and sculptor Dwayne Bass, TWOvital strives to create awareness of environmental issues and promote sustainability through its art.

TWOvital has created additional sustainable sculptures as part of green building projects throughout the Southeast and in Washington DC. These sculptures have been crafted from a number of different materials including metal, wood, foam insulation, PVC piping, and recycled rubber—all taken from construction sites and buildings that were being demolished or renovated.


Furniture Using Waste As Raw Material, US

RUBBLOX is a furniture line created by Dwayne Bass, founder of TWOvital. It is manufactured from recycled rubber (such as car tires) in the state of Georgia. They take rubber that is no longer suitable for use and have all the fibers, steel belts, and impurities removed in order to work with the finest and cleanest shredded rubber. The rubber is then dyed using organically mined dyes which are non-toxic for children, pets and the environment. They then shape and mould the recycled rubber into cubes, cylinders and many other shapes to meet all design needs.


Upcycling, South Africa

Upcycling - creative green designs that incorporate the old with the new.The imaginative work of Cape Town designer, Katie Thompson, is something special. Her work blends the romantic and nostalgic with the practical and current for a fresh and whimsical vibe. Her initiative Recreate offers innovative home décor designs using old and discarded items.

One such product uses vintage suitcases to make comfortable yet whimsical chairs and settees.


India: Challenges and Solutions

Waste Management Challenges in India and Proposed Solutions

@2013, ICE, All rights reserved 04/10/2023 24

Potential Loss in India

Snapshot of the potential loss of resources in India:

6.7 million TPY (tons per year) of recyclable material, which could have been used as secondary raw materials in manufacturing industries, due to the absence of source separation.

9.6 million tons of compost, which could have been used as a fertilizer supplement, due to the absence of source separation and enough composting facilities.

58 million barrels of oil energy equivalent in residues of composting operations, which could have been used to generate electricity and displace fossil fuels in RDF (fuel generation) co-combustion plants or WTE (Waste to Energy) power plants, due to the absence of WTE facilities.


The Pressing Issues

• Issue 1: While technology and knowledge transfer arrangements with the West are already in place for treatment of waste, e.g., different colored bins to segregate waste at source, “the basic issue in India is lack of awareness and education about the importance of waste segregation at source.”

• Issue 2: Currently the transportation of waste from collection points to the transfer stations is done through informal channels like NGOs and ragpickers. The mixed waste is taken to the transfer stations where it is segregated manually. The waste is carried in an open truck thus also risking the spread of harmful bacteria.


Issue 1 – Segregation of Waste at Source

Although a simple way is to create color-coded bins to encourage collection of segregated waste at source, the bigger question is will people actually pay attention to detail and make the effort of throwing the right waste in the right bin?

Problems:1. Mixed waste collection2. Fowl smell and spread

of germs3. Lack of motivation

among people to find a garbage bin and dispose waste

4. Collection and segregation of waste becomes a time consuming and costly affair

5. Desired results are not achieved since many waste treatment techniques require segregated waste as input


Proposed Solution: Game to Spread Awareness

An Angry Birds theme-based mobile application game can be developed to gamify the entire exercise to educate people about segregation of waste at source. Through the game we can try to habituate people to put the right waste in the right section. By making the game addictive and fun, we can attempt to achieve an ecosystem where people dispose of waste in a segregated manner with a smile on their face!

Points for right basket

Minus points for wrong basket

If you go wrong too many times YOU STINK !!!


Issue 2: Collection & TransportationCollection either by cycles or small trucks

Transfer Station – Manual Segregation Disposal

Problems1. Mixed waste collection2. Time lost in manual

segregation3. Risk of fowl smell and

bacteria spreading due to unhygienic transportations

4. Collection by informal sector thus no set protocols followed

5. Time consuming & costly activity (Rs. 1500/ton)


Proposed Solution: Jugaad Waste Cart

The innovative waste cart will be an effort to “formalize” the efforts of the otherwise informal sector involved in waste collection. This will ensure that the segregated waste is collected in a more hygienic manner and can be quickly transported for treatment. The bikes and cycles used can be old and unused ones which are collected through a “donate your bike/cycle” campaign.

Innovative waste cart that is hygienic, eco-friendly (made from recycled

material). The cart can be either fitted to a bike or a cycle depending on the

transportation need for the area covered.


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+91 413 4210583 / 4 / 5ice.humanfactors.com/facebook.com/uxtrendspotting@UXTrendspotting

Contact [email protected] for any further queries and feedback.

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References• http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Sustainable%20Solid%20W

aste%20Management%20in%20India_Final.pdf• http://eco-wise.blogspot.in/2010/07/waste-reduction-starts-at-home.html• http://www.nswai.com/waste.php• http://www.thefuntheory.com/bottle-bank-arcade-machine• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/paraguay-orchestra-music-from-

garbage-instruments-recycled-trash_n_2370798.html• http://www.attero.in/show_content.php?id=1&scat=4• http://goonj.org/?page_id=5• https://sirum.org/about/what_we_do• http://twovital.com/reclaimed-furniture/• http://rubblox.com/gallery/• http://www.upcyclethat.com/recreate/2820/• www.energetica-india.net/ • http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2010/06/21/2932709.htm• http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/africa/cameroon/entrepreneurial-women

-cameroon-transform-plastic-waste-wealth#ixzz2ZJDvFYAD• http://www.thisiscolossal.com/ • http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2009/03/semakau-landfil

l.html



http://eco-wise.blogspot.in/2010/07/waste-reduction-starts-at-home.html

http://www.nswai.com/waste.php

http://www.thefuntheory.com/bottle-bank-arcade-machine

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/paraguay-orchestra-music-from-garbage-instruments-recycled-trash_n_2370798.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/paraguay-orchestra-music-from-garbage-instruments-recycled-trash_n_2370798.html

http://www.attero.in/show_content.php?id=1&scat=4

http://goonj.org/?page_id=5

https://sirum.org/about/what_we_do

http://twovital.com/reclaimed-furniture/

http://rubblox.com/gallery/

http://www.upcyclethat.com/recreate/2820/

http://www.energetica-india.net/



http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2010/06/21/2932709.htm

http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/africa/cameroon/entrepreneurial-women-cameroon-transform-plastic-waste-wealth

http://www.globalpressinstitute.org/africa/cameroon/entrepreneurial-women-cameroon-transform-plastic-waste-wealth

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/

http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2009/03/semakau-landfill.html

http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2009/03/semakau-landfill.html

Design

Sustainable Futures: A Waste Management Perspective - India