Development News

E-waste can be safely disposed off instead of sending to landfills. NGO Karo Sambhav is working closely with other non-profits, schools and colleges to get rid of e-waste safely. With an increase in global warming and pollution in the world, the race to save the environment is increasing. People are trying to find ways to reduce waste, especially highly toxic electronic waste: from used mobile to broken laptops and batteries. Many countries in the world have adopted proper practices of disposing this waste, but India is still grappling with introducing proper ways to dispose of e-waste. E-waste is the most harmful category of waste. It includes batteries, computers, TVs, monitors, cell phones, etc. Since we are in a digital age , the quantity of e-waste is huge. Harmful toxics like lead, mercury, and cadmium released by electronic devices goes straight into the soil and water. The same soil and water is used for irrigation purposes by farmers and when humans consume that food, there are chances of getting poisoned by these harmful heavy metals. The biggest hurdle is segregating e-waste is that it’s labour-intensive and expensive to boot. Now, the government has woken up to this problem because they know what impact e-waste can have on the world, if not controlled. Consumers should know that e-waste is illegal to dispose of the landfills. Those who are aware tend to keep it at their homes as they have no clue what to do with this type of waste. Karo Sambhav, a non-profit organization, has studied the problem andhas come up with an effective way to collect and dispose this waste. It’s a Producer Responsibility Organization(PRO) which only deals with e-waste. Their aim is to make recycling a way of life. They collaborate with various NGOs, schools and colleges to spread awareness and tackle this issue. The organization has also launched their mobile application which teaches you how e-waste at home can be disposed of easily. The main objective is to safely dispose e-waste. Founder of Karo Sambhav, Pranshu Singhal, says he has a dream of a sustainable and systematic transformation of India’s e-waste sector. According to him “The problem of e-waste is only going to grow exponentially. It’s important to engage with the issue because the problem cannot be solved without a behavioural shift on how we treat e-waste.” With an end-to-end value chain for management of e-waste and by engaging citizens, MNCs including Apple, Lenovo, Dell and HP, Karo Sambhav has successfully kept 2,91,310 kg of e-waste away from landfills.

Muskan Babuta finds life is hell for the ragpickers who live in Ghazipur slums, without proper sanitation, drinking water facilities and a clean toilet to use. Slum can be defined as ‘a densely populated usually urban area marked by crowding, dirty run-down housing, poverty, and social disorganisation’ according to Merriam Webster dictionary. Cleanliness is defined as the state or quality of being clean. The gap is obvious. It’s so ironical that people of Ghazipur slums, a colony of ragpickers, whose work makes the lives of others easier, are themselves forced to live in worst of conditions. They don’t even have access to a basic need like toilets, water, clean surroundings. Life in an Indian slum is difficult and is not hidden. The Ghazipur landfill in East Delhi is the oldest landfill in the city containing at least 12 million tonnes of waste. The now defunct landfill is now estimated to be at least 50 feet tall. It’s so strange that life is so different just a few kilometers from the hustle bustle of the city. Clogged drains, stagnant water, narrow lanes, cramped houses, heaps of garbage and strong stink of the combined hangs around the slum. Some of the thousand eyes staring with suspicion, some had hope. As they gathered around and started to come out with their tales of sorrow, it became clear that everyday things like water and food are scarce to them. Survivability is hard, but they make it through somehow. The major problems at Ghazipur slum are: 1. No Water Supply- Water is supplied for only two hours a day. The same tap water is used for drinking, washing and cleaning. The municipal corporation does not supply drinking water to them. 2. Clogged Drains- There was virtually no sewage system. The open drains were choked and garbage was strewn on the road. According to residents, the drains are supposed to be cleaned once a month, but after the residents petitioned the government officials several times, the drain was clean. However, the filth from the drain were removed and left on the streets, instead of being cleared, adding to the already dirty streets. 3. Toilets- There were very few personal toilets, as most houses are cramped and lack space for toilets. There was one common toilet but was not used by ladies and children. A lady resident said, “We don’t use the common toilet. We will generally go in the open.” She added that the common toilet is far away, which is why most of them don’t use it. “We don’t have soaps, so we just wash hands with water,” she said. 4. Unemployment- People living in Ghazipur have become unemployed ever since the landfill shut down and are finding it difficult to eke out a living. A Ghazipur resident of said, “Something is better than nothing. So we manage with whatever we earn. We at least get to buy enough food to fill our stomachs twice a day.” 5. Cramped Houses- The nightmare of living there is unimaginable. Most of the houses were single-room shanties and some of them had around 6-8 people crammed in them. One resident said, “We are a family of 5 people and we live in this one room only. Back in our village, we had huge fields and lot of space. But my husband came looking for a better job in the city, and now we have to live like this.”

The rapid growth in the population is always supplemented with increasing demands and every day in India, 3800 children die from drinking dirty water according to UNICEF. Out of which 80 percent suffers from pollution-induced diseases and fatalities. The citizens, children, tourists, economy, development- everything is affected by the massive amount of waste on our streets and polluting the waterways. It’s not just about how it looks, but this untreated and mismanaged waste is harmful to our health. According to the Planning Commission of India , the country produces 62 million tonnes of waste annually. Out of which, 43 million tonnes is solid waste and only 11.9 million tonnes is treated while the left is dumped in the landfills untreated. Cities do not have the space to dispose the wastes. And with growing population, the waste generated by cities is expected to rise by five percent every year, according to Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). According to the survey by CSE, Alappuzha and Panaji are the India’s top four clean cities because they give priority to segregation of waste at household level, and its reuse. This survey highlights the cities in India who are managing waste very well and what can the other countries learn from their cases. ALAPPUZHA Alappuzha is a city in Kerala famous for its backwaters and beaches. The city produced 58 tonnes of solid waste everyday. As reported by CSE, the waste was dumped in a six-hectare plot in Sarvodaya Puram village. This caused pollution, contamination of water resources and spreading of diseases like chikungunya and dengue. What happened? In June 2012, residents of Sarvodaya Puram protested, went on hunger strikes and blocked the roads for 100 days. This led to closing the dumpyard. Thomas Isaac, member of Kerala Legislative Assembly from Alappuzha decided to try decentralised waste management . Big push towards compost and biogas Alappuzha municipality has 52 wards. The ‘Clean Home Clean City’ programmes started with 12 most urbanised wards covering 12000 households, as a pilot project. Household and localised composting setups were promoted along with individual biogas plants. At present, 3500 households using biogas plants and 6000 families using pipe composting. The households without these setups put their waste to 15 composting shreds with 165 bins for community composting. “Although the focus of the initiative is households, it has also set up daily pickup segregated waste from commercial places like hotels and restaurants,” said CSE Spokesman. The collected wet waste is taken to piggeries and fish farms of the city. Whereas the dry waste is taken to a godown and sent to recycling facilities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Outcome “The city now has strong segregation system, decentralised composting set-up and zero landfill model. This system helps Alappuzha recognised by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as one of the top five models across the world for fighting the pollution menace,” said CSE official. PANAJI Panaji is a city in Goa famous for its beaches and Dona Paula, meeting point of two rivers, Zauri and Mandovi. The city produces 55 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste every day out of which 20 metric tonnes is wet waste. The City Corporation of Panaji (CCP) manages the solid waste in the city. Weak infrastructure With the rapid increase population, urbanization and industrialisation the problem of waste management also increased. Inadequate collection, unmanaged disposal of industrial, commercial and domestic waste was presenting problems for human health and existing environment. Panaji City was plagued with inefficient and insufficient civil amenities. Campaign rolls out In early 2003, a comprehensive city revitalisation campaign was launched. The city was divided into 12 waste management zones, each under a supervisor who manages the collection and transportation of waste. CCP put in place a five way segregation system that differentiates between wet and dry waste. And sub-segregates the dry waste according to its recyclability. As reported by CSE, dry waste is segregated into four categories: Plastics, paper and cardboard, glass and metals, non-recyclable materials (leather, ceramic, etc). There are 70 decentralised composting centres for residential wet waste. Wet waste from hotels, eateries and marketplace is handled separately. Wet waste to 20 tons per day from hotels and eateries is sent to composting plant outside the city. The marketplace has its own localised composting unit that takes in about 4 tons of wet waste from food vendors. Based on Sunita Narain 's book, Not In My Backyard, dry waste from residentials, hotels, eateries and marketplace is taken to a central sorting facility where the waste is segregated vigorously into 30 categories. The segregated dry waste is then sent to neighbouring state for recycling. Outcome The city has now a five point segregation method, decentralised composting system and a zero landfill model. “The city has now become bin-free and carries out waste management at three levels- collection and segregation, transportation and intermediate storage,” said the CSE official.

A workforce of almost 46,000 rag pickers goes through the waste generated by Delhiiites to segregate the reusable from the rest.Yet, according to a report published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2013, out of the total waste collected, only 12.45 per cent of the waste is scientifically processed and rest is disposed in open dumps. Every day 9,400 tonnes of garbage is being produced and is not being managed appropriately. This poses serious threats to the Delhi ’s air quality as dust and other particulates from the dumps are spread across the city by the wind. Threats from garbage The waste produced is called municipal solid waste and is managed by local government bodies and some non-profit organisations. Annually, about 3.8 million tons of municipal solid waste is generated in Delhi. This ranges from dust gathered while sweeping streets to debris generated in construction sites. This waste occupies one-third of the total space available in landfill sites across the city. “I have been doing this for last seven years and I have come across a lot of filth and dirt which people generate daily. This dirt not only includes newspapers but liquor bottles and plastic,” said Ram Yadav, a rag picker stationed in Dwarka. “This business is not organised; I do not know where this garbage goes and how it is treated. I earn my living by collecting the items that can be sold in the market, the rest is probably sent to local dumpsites,” Yadav said. These rag pickers separate the different articles in the garbage and make separate piles.Wet waste is sent to compost plants and the rest is dumped at the landfill. Delhi’s garbage mountains The Ghazipur Landfill is one of the biggest landfills in India; from afar it looks like a mountain. Over the years the garbage has piled up to create this mountain. It omits a stench that is unbearable, yet many people live beside it. On September 2, 2017 a large chunk of garbage of fell on the road beside the landfill, killing two people and injuring many. Government took severe steps after this, banning the dumping of garbage in Ghazipur. However, people took little notice as tons of garbage is still being dumped at Ghazipur. Municipal solid waste is managed by three municipal bodies in the national capital. These are: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) In Delhi, the waste generated from houses reaches the dumpsters and is then taken to landfills to be segregated. “We have provided local carry vans and all the equipment needed to ensure 100% waste segregation, this has helped since people have become more aware of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and have taken steps in that direction.” says Yogender Mann, Public Relations Director, North and East MCD. Not only Delhi but no other city in India can claim that it has segregated 100% of the total waste generated as only 70% of this waste is actually segregated. The remaining 30% gets mixed up and lost in the urban environment. Prof. S.M Akhtar, Dept of Environment Studies, Jama Millia Islamia University. Photogarph by – Harshit Mansukhani How is it related to air pollution ? “I believe that the major source of pollution is dust particles from construction sites and landfills. All this catalyzes the depletion of watersheds and the green mass of the city.” said S.M Akhtar, a professor of environmental studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University who has claimed that the studies conducted on Delhi’s air pollution are faulty as these were conducted using wrong parameters. Micro-forests: The solution? Akhtar said that while other big cities such as Mumbai are linear in construction, Delhi is non- linear. The nonlinear construction of Delhi allows the wind to blow in every direction inside the city, causing the dust particles from landfills to be spread everywhere. Akhtar has suggested the creation of micro-forests perpendicular to major wind directions in the city and making winter a no-construction season will help reduce its air circulation problems. Akhtar also attributed Delhi’s air pollution problem to the increasing use of private transport in the city. Akhtar said, “The linear form also allows a spinal public route for transportation that is difficult in a circular city like Delhi as it has multiple and longer routes that makes it a compulsion for many to increasingly use private transport, leading to more air pollution.”

Manual scavengers lead a life that no normal human being would be able to survive. From collecting human excreta to carrying them on their heads for safe disposal, only put their health at risk. Until a change encounter with the “Toilet Man of India”, Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak . In an exclusive interview to Times of Bennett, Pathak threw some light on how difficult it was to make the manual scavengers of Alwar, Rajasthan, understand the importance of sanitation and drag them out of their unhygienic livelihood. Pathak said, “I convinced them by saying if they leave their current job, I will train them in other soft skills that will help you lead a better life.” The scavengers were reluctant because they had various officials come and talk to them about the same but no action was taken. He then converted the bucket toilets with the Sulabh flush toilets in the village which in turn relieved them from the occupation. When he found success in rehabilitating 28 manual scavengers from Alwar, he began training them in various vocational jobs like embroidery, knitting, beauty parlour services etc. He said that this ensured that they will be able to earn a respectful livelihood. In an aim to improve their lives further and have them gain a stand in the society, Pathak said, “We took them to the temple because social acceptance is very important.” Ambedkar had given four indicators to know whether untouchability had abolished, he pointed out, • That everyone will go to the temple to worship their deities. • Everyone will go to a pond to take bath. • They will draw water to drink. • They will dine together. Sulabh has fulfilled these parameters in two towns of Rajasthan, Alwar and Tonk. The manual scavenger families were adopted by various elite class families like Maneka Gandhi, Manishankar Aiyer etc. They have had a social upgradation said Pathak. “If we can achieve such results and improve lives, the government and other organisations can also do this on a bigger scale,” Pathak said. “All these measures need to be followed up. We can teach young boys and girls the importance of hygiene who can carry the message forward. They can demonstrate the use of toilets and help others know how to clean them, “ Pathak said. Talking about women’s hygiene, Pathak said that the country has many superstitions that are still being followed due to which ladies are restricted from entering temples, kitchens and attend any social gatherings. “Culture that has been prevalent for 5000 years will take time to change,” he said. Sulabh has installed 1.5 million toilets in houses and have taken care of the fact that if women leave a soiled cloth or sanitary tissue in the washroom, Sulabh has it cleaned and then also explains to the ladies the consequences of leaving a used sanitary pad. The practices that are undertaken in the country currently will gradually fade away because now the people are being told and reminded that their practices are unhygienic and unsafe. The toilets built by Sulabh across the country in various houses, none of them are non-functional because they are taken care of throughout the year. “It is necessary to spread the message of correct hygiene practises and they need to be repeated time again to have people live a healthy life,” said Pathak.

We are all so fond of our gadgets that our lives seem impossible without them. Despite the news of cell phones causing brain tumors doing rounds, we start our days by checking our mobile phones. But what happens when the gadgets we love so much stop working? Are we all aware of the fact that improper disposal of e-waste is dangerous for the environment? e-Waste is different from normal waste People generally tend to throw e-waste along with the normal waste. “Well, generally we throw the electronic waste along with the normal waste except for the expensive products like a laptop etc,” says Kiran Shobha, a resident of Panchsheel Wellington Society, Noida. All the waste then travels to the local landfill, where it is compacted, smashed and sometimes burned until every component including heavy metals leach into the air, ground, and water, killing the environment. According to a technology website, Gizmodo, cell phones and electronic products use metals like copper, lead, nickel, antimony, zinc, and coltan among others. Some of these materials are part of the finished item while others are used heavily in their production process and remain onboard afterwards. And how can we forget to mention the glue that holds everything on the inside together. Also, they all consist of plastic shells, which alone is the greatest threat to the environment, Gizmodo says. A global hazard Improper treatment of e-waste not only affects the environment but also the human life adversely. According to researchers the air, that workers in e-waste dumps breath in constantly, cause inflammation and stress that can lead to heart diseases, DNA damage and even cancer. There’s a book named CTRL-X: A Topography of E-Waste here by a German author-photographer, Kai Löffelbein where he documented what happens to old phones, laptops, and other gadgets in dumps and workshops in India, Ghana, and China. As mentioned in the book, he visited a district in India dedicated to electronic waste near Delhi, where the workers dismantle and burn old products to extract materials to sell. Whatever is left is dumped into drains, and pollutants like lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium leach into soil and drinking water contaminating the environment. India produces the most e-waste India is one of the largest producers of e-waste in the world, which is definitely something to worry about, according to the Center for Science and Environment. The government has now formulated several laws regulating how waste should be collected and processed. The law has now created a pressure on manufacturers and producers of electronic equipment (EEE) as earlier they were having a free ride in the absence of stringent regulatory framework. They are now responsible for the collection of the e-waste generated during the manufacture of any EEE and channelising it for recycling or disposal. Nowadays, some companies started using hidden trackers to watch where electronic waste goes. According to the rules laid by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it is now mandatory for manufacturers to maintain records of the e-waste generated, handled and disposed and make such records available for scrutiny by the concerned State Pollution Control Board. It is also true that it is difficult for individual producers to fulfill all the parameters prescribed in the legislation, but they can do it easily as a collective organization. e-Waste hazard : The impending challenge India can take a cue from Norway which has ‘e-waste take back’ system in place for more than a decade, according to CSE. It is a remarkable example of excellent coordination between manufacturers and the government. According to CSE website, the authorities in Norway were finding it extremely difficult to enforce and follow up so many entities producing and importing electronics in the country. Then they came up with the idea of EPR which resulted in e-waste regulation. The Ministry of Environment in Norway signed an agreement to set up take back companies with the producers and importers of electronic waste. It was a voluntary agreement and was later followed by an e-waste regulation. Like the rules and laws in India, management of e-waste in Norway is also a producer responsibility and producers are defined as Norwegian manufacturers and importers of EEE. According to reports the material recovery rate of collected e-waste in Norway was an astounding 82 per cent in 2012, and the energy recovery (waste to energy) rate was about 13 per cent. Only about five per cent of e-waste was reported to be land-filled in 2012. More than 143,790 tonnes of e-waste was collected in Norway in 2012 which reached to 146,018 tonnes in 2013. The process, however, needs to be tweaked according to Indian requirements but nonetheless it is an extremely important exercise to increase e-waste management. Proper waste disposal is the need of the hour At individual level the only way to prevent the damage caused by careless disposal of e-waste is through recycling and proper utilization of all its components. “We give our e waste to our local electrician. We are aware of the harmful effects it has on the environment,” said Tarun Sharma, a resident of Golden Avenue society, Noida. There are several agencies which collect e-waste and recycle its parts. You can give or sell your e-waste to a local mechanic or an electrician as well. These agencies reuse as much as they can and ensure complete personal data destruction. They recycle and reuse e-waste so as to minimize the dangers it causes to the environment, for example, Namo eWaste, SIMS Recycling Solutions India Private Limited etc. The more we advance the more essential it becomes for us to come up with the solutions to minimize environmental degradation and contamination due to the e-waste. After all sustainable development is all we need!

Delhi government has taken a unique step by introducing pink toilets for women emphasizing on the cleanliness and hygiene in public toilets.