NITI Aayog Guidelines
Recently NITI Aayog has issued policy guidelines to promote behavior change to strengthen waste segregation at source (WSS).
It aims to facilitate the adoption of WSS practices among various stakeholders. India generates about 49.8 million tonnes of solid waste annually. By 2050, waste generation is projected to increase three-fold.
Advantages of WSS
- This reduces the need for secondary segregation, which requires immense capital, energy and land.
- It is less likely to be contaminated with other types of waste. So it is more likely to be recycled.
- This results in less waste reaching landfills. This directly increases the usage life of a landfill. This results in a reduction in the demand for land for new landfills.
- The existing constraints before WSS include limited/inadequate market for segregated waste, existing gaps in waste and segregated waste management capacity of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), unsafe products, packaging and design of dustbins etc.
Recommendations:
- Use of financial incentives and punitive action such as ‘Pay as you’ (recovery of waste collection fee from the waste producer) to encourage segregation at source.
- To strengthen the market for segregated waste by implementing measures like mandatory recyclable material in products, green public procurement policy etc.
- Greengage should be adopted to promote eco-friendly/sustainable practices.
Source – The Hindu
