At a time when National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked Chief Secretaries of all the States and Union Territories to submit their plans to reduce waste before March 1, Delhi environmentalists have once again filed a petition with National Human Right Commission (NHRC) mentioning that the waste incinerator technology emits toxic gases like dioxins which was used under the brand name “Agent Orange” by US Government against Vietnam as a chemical weapon during US-Vietnam war.

Locations of landfill sites and waste to energy plants, situated in residential areas forced residents to give up their fight against the installations of Waste to Energy (WTE) incinerators. Surprisingly, a few Okhla residents have sold their properties and moved aboard to avoid inhalation of toxic gases residing in landfill sites and WTE’s vicinity.

According to Gopal Krishna, environmentalist, Toxic Watch Alliance (TWA), being a signatory to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC), Kyoto Protocol, Doha Amendment to Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement is under an obligation to refrain from promoting waste incineration because under Annexure A of Kyoto Protocol waste incineration is listed as one of the key source of green house gases.

Delhi alone generates 15,000 metric tones of Solid Municipal Waste, however, to tackle this much amount of waste, both state and center governments are failed.

“It is required to understand the nature of municipal waste. The composition of SWM is more organic and less plastic and other material,” adding, “ Indian municipal waste is not suitable for energy generation because of its low calorific value. All the six such plants including the Okhla one set up in the country merit probe,” said Krishna. 

Krishna also said India being a signatory to UN’s Stockholm Convention on Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs) is under an obligation to eliminate Dioxins like POPs.

 “The adverse impact of use of POPs on ecosystem and human health is still being studied jointly by USA and Vietnam. The continued operation of such a plant tantamounts to exposing residents of the national capital to war chemicals in times of peace,” he said, adding, “ The project also emits heavy metals like Mercury. There is no way to segregate mercury from the mixed waste which is being use as fuel. India being a signatory to UN’s Minamata Convention is duty bound to stop such practice.”