A Task Force constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr. K. Kasturirangan has submitted its report to the Planning Commission. The task force was setup in order to identify technically feasible, financially affordable and environmentally sound processing and disposal technologies for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management in India. Furthermore, the finance aspect, infrastructure and institutional support, promotion of waste to energy technologies was also a part of the mandate of the report.
Salient features f the report are summarised in table below-
| Sr. No. | Salient features |
| Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been recommended for enhancing waste management in India. Model scheme has been proposed with a viability gap funding up to 40%. | |
| Principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recover, Recycle and Remanufacture (5Rs) should be adopted. Integrated waste management practices to be adopted and Integration of kabadiwalas and rag pickers into the waste management system. | |
| Setting up of landfills – “Cities with population of two million and above, which generate more than 1100 TPD of MSW thermal route are suitable for setting up standalone waste to energy plants. “Cities with population of one to two million, which generate more than 550 TPD of MSW are suitable for setting up a waste to energy plant based on thermalroute only” | |
| Public private partnerships (PPP) to be pursued by state governments. | |
| Private sector to get viability gap funding to the extent of 40% towards capital expenditure by the central government upfront or 20% viability gap funding each for capital investments and O&M costs linked to performance and another 10% by the state governments for the sustainability of such projects. | |
| Rehabilitation and remediation of abandoned landfills is to be a Priority especially in places with high water table. | |
| National Policy on “Recycling, Resource Conservation and Preventive Environmental Management”. | |
| National Recycling Programme to create and mainstream the organized waste management and recycling industry. | |
| Make compulsory for municipal authorities to collect waste in three streams i.e.1) Biodegradable and combustible wastes,2) Inert waste such as street sweeping and silt, and 3) Construction and demolition waste. | |
| 10. | Financial incentives also part of schemes. |
In India, 170,000 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generated every day and only about 19% of the waste is treated and remaining ends up in the environment causing serious pollution.
As per CPCB, municipal authorities have so far only set up 279 compost plants, 172 biomethanation plants, 29 RDF plants and eight Waste to Energy plants in India. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), 22 types of diseases can be prevented/ controlled in India by improving Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) system.
The report is expected to act as guidance for the selection of appropriate technology and clearly indicates technologies that could be adopted by various classes of cities. It emphasizes on converting the combustible waste into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to be used in power plants based on RDF.
Read the complete report here.
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170,000 tons of waste per day? That's difficult to comprehend. Hopefully solutions will be implemented sooner than later.