India has thrown Swachh Bharat into the garbage bin already
In recent times, politicians from various parties have taken up broom and dustpan, and swept the country's garbage-lined streets.
But have you thought of what happens to the garbage they sweep up after the cameras stop whirring and panning? It probably ends up in one of India's landfills, many of which are overfull and unsanitary.
Though the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) issued rules - the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules (MSW Rules) - to deal with garbage, no state or major city has bothered to comply with them.
The rules expect residents to segregate garbage and cities to arrange for its efficient collection and treatment, either by composting or recycling. But data from the Central government's pollution watchdog, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in its report published in 2015, paints a different picture.
Damning evidence
Only some neighbourhoods in some cities in as few as 13 states segregate waste into organic, inorganic and hazardous, according to the report.
Though the MSW rules require that local governments treat and recycle garbage, state-wise data from the CPCB reveal that most states fail to comply. For instance, of 34 states and Union territories, five don't treat or recycle any garbage, four treat or recycle less than five per cent of what they collect, and 15 less than 15 per cent. All this adds up to sorry statistics: India treats only 23 per cent of the massive 1,44,165 tonnes of garbage it generates.
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| We can only sweep solid waste management issues under the carpet for so long. |
Moreover, local governments across the nation fail to collect a massive 28,400 tonnes of garbage generated per day. This uncollected garbage most likely ends up polluting rivers and lakes, or clogging drainage systems.
What is collected, either ends up in landfills or is burnt, both hopelessly outdated waste management strategies especially in the era of smart cities. Landfills are unsustainable as they pose risks to health and the environment, and are land-intensive in a context where it is scarce. Despite this, 895 new landfill sites have been identified, according to the CPCB report.
And the open burning of garbage, often done to create space for more garbage in landfills, emits several tonnes of pollutants in the air. A Columbia University study on solid waste management in 2012 found that open burning emitted 22,000 tonnes of pollutants in just one city, Mumbai, with devastating consequences for health, as the city's residents must know from the recent fires at the Deonar landfill.
What is unfortunate is that 51 per cent of the garbage is organic and 31 per cent recyclable, and so we don't have to be in the mess we are in, if the government implemented a proper waste management plan. According to the Columbia University study, India could create several tonnes of fertilizer, secondary raw materials, and barrels of energy from urban landfills alone in what could literally be a rags to riches story.
Explaining the violations
Why have states and cities been allowed to flout the MSW rules with such impunity? Researchers in the waste sector cite lack of accountability and corruption as some of the reasons.
"These rules are issued under a Central act, the Environment Protection Act (1986), but they are about public health and sanitation, which is a state subject. This creates confusion, as several government bodies at the Central, state and local levels are in charge of implementation and enforcement, and many even have overlapping functions. It is not clear whom is accountable to whom," says Ahmedabad-based lawyer Avni Rastogi, who leads research on waste at a non-profit organisation.
Accountability is one problem and corruption is another. "Garbage disposal contracts are lucrative," says Dharmesh Shah of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA).
"Any deviation from the business as usual is opposed by contractors. Moving to a system that is decentralised, involves door-to-door collection, segregation, and recycling will threaten them. Neither politicians nor contractors will support it," he says, suggesting that a corrupt nexus between contractors and decision-makers undermines the implementation of the rules.
A clean break?
These rules have recently been redrafted and are likely to be notified by the MoEF in the coming months.
The new rules are an improvement on its previous versions. They list responsibilities of the various Central and state ministries, district administrations, local governments and other agencies involved in waste management, dispelling confusion about roles, responsibilities and jurisdictions.
They also acknowledge the contribution of the informal sector, the sprawling network of waste-pickers and kabadiwalas who recycle garbage, thereby preventing it from reaching landfills. "When these rules are notified, perhaps cities will chose to empower and formalise these existing waste management systems, instead of employing large contractors," says Shah who was on the panel that framed the rules.
Shah and other researchers in the waste management sector are hopeful that these rules will be enforced. So the next time you see politicians sweeping the streets, remember to not only to praise them on their sweeping skills, but also ask them about their waste disposal plans. We can only sweep solid waste management issues under the carpet for so long.