Why in news?
- The Niti Aayog, in its Draft Three Year Action Agenda, has drawn attention to the need for a sustainable plan for solid waste management in Indian cities.
- The Aayog has taken the stand that incineration or “Waste to Energy” is the best option as a sustainable disposal solution for the solid waste of larger cities.
What is Incineration?
- Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials.
- Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas and heat.
- The ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the waste, and may take the form of solid lumps or particulates carried by the flue gas.
- In some cases, the heat generated by incineration can be used to generate electric power.
- Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion.
What are the drawbacks of Incineration technology?
- WTE is moving fast, regulatory challenges are enormous and the challenges of enforcing emission standards are even greater.
- The Niti Aayog fails to point out that when incineration plants in cities use unsegregated waste to generate electricity, they emit toxic gases as by-products and irresponsibly dispose of these “dangerous by-products” in the air.
- Incineration technologies require a continuous supply of waste with a sufficiently high calorific value and low moisture content.
- Researchers found that Indian waste is not suitable for incineration because it has too high a moisture content, leading to low calorific value.
- The Niti Aayog is silent on the segregation of wet waste from dry waste at the source of generating waste.
- No revenue is available for a new Central corporation on solid waste management; the land on which plants will be built also belongs to urban local governments or state governments.
What could be done?
- Incentives for segregation and a penalty for non-segregation must be the first action point of any agenda on municipal solid waste management.
- If segregated at source, it can be collected and delivered at a local Bio-methanation plant for anaerobic processing.
- Bio-methanation allows the capture of biogas which can be used for cooking or for electricity generation, it also produces liquid fertiliser.
- If this practice is followed across the country, 50% of the wastes in urban India need not to be hauled over long distances to waste to energy plants and landfills.
- The decentralised strategy for treating biodegradable waste is as much relevant for large cities as for small.
What is the way forward?
- The Niti Aayog has recommended setting up a Waste to Energy Corporation of India under the Ministry of Urban Development, “Which may set up world-class waste to energy plants through public-private partnerships (PPP) across the country”.
- The policy focus must not sway from examining the financial and environmental costs and benefits of the different alternatives for waste management.
- India do not have effective mechanisms for monitoring emissions, the health hazard becomes even more challenging.
- Niti Aayog must follow up with extensive consultation with subject experts, stakeholders and practitioners in state governments and urban local governments.
- Individual households, housing societies, Resident Welfare Associations and bulk generators should be at the centre of the movement to get segregation.
- The waste must be delivered to the plant in closed containers and processed within a specified short period, while the biogas and liquid fertiliser must be used to derive environmental benefits.
Source: Indian Express
