Shoddy use of a good practice

Recycling has helped a beleaguered environment to cope with the ever-increasing rate of pollution and ecological degradation, but instances of recycling procedures going wrong are on the rise. This is posing a threat to the environment, besides nullifying the very purpose and objective of recycling. 

As there is an increase in pressure — to conform to the green norms, there have been many instances wherein due protocols are being bypassed and best practices ignored in the recycling process. This is paving way for complex environmental impacts that are becoming larger than the original threat.

Recently, Gujarat’s pollution control board, issued a show-cause notice to the company that was tasked with the job of managing toxic waste generated by Vapi — an industrial town in south Gujarat which topped the list of critically polluted areas earlier this year. Vapi Waste Effluent Management Company limited was accused of improper handling of toxic waste. A notice was issued after the treatment storage disposal facility, managed by the company collapsed. This lead to a heavy spillage of toxic sludge from the facility into the agricultural fields. Adherence to standard operating procedures and due diligence could have helped prevent this incident.

A similar condition of ignorance and apathy exists in the hazardous electronic waste recycling sector in India. As digital revolution makes rapid strides, Indian consumption for e-goods has increased manifold, resulting in substantial generation of e-waste. Nearly 95 per cent of the e-waste is treated and processed in urban slums of the country, where untrained workers without protective gear carry out dangerous recycling activities with scant regard for their own safety or that of the environment. The fact that the Government is unable to regulate these informal e-waste recycling units strewn across the country is both surprising and disturbing.

On its part, the Government has adopted ambitious policies but their ineffective execution has undermined the environmental conservation effort. India is one of the few countries in the world to adopt a law for safe handling and disposal of e-waste. The E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011, introduced by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, ensures that the manufacturers of electronic goods are made responsible for their products, once these have outlived their utility — referred to as the extended producer responsibility. However, few manufacturers actually take back their e-waste, thereby rendering the well-meant Government policy purposeless.

Yet another reason for recycling processes going wrong is the application of same recycling parameters to different types of waste generated. For instance, some types of plastics should be left as garbage rather than putting them through recycling.  Glass, metal, and paper are easy to recycle, but plastic is a complex waste material and in India, many cities do not have the requisite infrastructure to recycle a variety of plastics that are produced. 

Awareness across the world to maintain quality standards in recycling is increasing. This newfound enthusiasm for responsible recycling is making processes robust, it is minimising hurdles and health hazards and is helping us to solve complex issues such as the recycling of compact fluorescent lamps. CFl’s have set a trend in energy savings and has inspired people to use them and do their bit for the environment. But the issue of disposal of CFl’s has been a continuous threat to the environment. 

At a time when the developing countries are struggling with safe disposal of CFls, Sri lanka is leading by example in initiating recycling of CFl’s in a procedure-driven manner. Pitipana, a small town, 35 km from Colombo, is home to South Asia’s first CFl recycling plant, Asia recycling. The state-of-the-art plant has the capacity to recycle up to 30 million CFls annually — nearly three times more than the annual usage in Sri lanka. 

Similarly, stringent standards in responsible recycling practices have helped the United States to contribute towards effective environmental conservation. 

The US recycles an estimated 32 per cent of their total waste, which averages nearly a tonne per person per year, and around a third of this is plastic. A committed recycling policy with adequate infrastructure has helped the US save greenhouse gas, equivalent of removing 39.6 million cars from the road.

India’s economic progress is bound to have an adverse impact on the environment and this can be minimised if the Government takes the initiative and ensures that due procedures are followed in the recycling sector. This will establish respect for rules and enable India to reduce, re-use and responsibly recycle.