With India’s growing population, coupled with rapid industrialization and urbanization, waste generation is projected to increase from 62 million T/Y to about 165 million T in 2030 (ASSOCHAM India 2017; TERI 2014). India has been witnessing a paradigm shift in policy, perspective, and industrialization (make in India initiative), along with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign) initiative. Industries and corporations are committed to play a catalytic role in promoting the concept of a “green economy” by urging all stake holders including city, state, and federal waste management to work together as part of the “Clean India Initiative.” Figure 4.17 shows a general classification of waste including industrial hazardous and nonhazardous, urban, e‐waste, and biomedical. These are generated during the extraction of raw materials into intermediate and final products, the consumption of final products, and other human activities.
Integrated Solid Waste Management
Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) refers to the strategic approach to sustainable management of solid wastes covering all sources and all aspects such as generation, segregation, transfer, sorting, treatment, recovery, and disposal in an integrated manner, with an emphasis on maximizing resource use efficiency. An effective ISWM system considers how to prevent, recycle, and manage solid waste in ways that most effectively protect human health and the environment. ISWM involves evaluating local needs and conditions, and then selecting and combining the most appropriate waste management activities for those conditions. The major ISWM activities are waste prevention, recycling and composting, and combustion (waste‐to‐energy) and disposal in properly designed, constructed, and managed landfills.
The selection of the most appropriate waste management systems and sustainable technologies is also needed to deliver an optimum and sustainable ISWM system. In combination with economic and social considerations, this approach would help waste managers to design more sustainable and waste management systems.
Thus, for the management of solid waste, the following is the preferred hierarchy of approaches:
- Reduction at source: meaning incorporation of the tenets of waste management at every stage of consumption from design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials to reduce the amount or toxicity of waste generated.
- Environmentally suitable reuse and recycling: to conserve natural resources and energy through systematic segregation, collection, and reprocessing.
ISWM concept has to be adapted with a view that effective management schemes need the flexibility of design, adaptation, and systems which can best meet current social, economic, and environmental conditions. These are likely to change over time and vary by location. ISWM with respect to three perspectives are life‐cycle waste generation and waste management (TERI 2014).
Hazardous Waste Handling and Management Rule
To address industrial waste issues, the Ministry notified the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules in 1989 (amended in 2000 and 2003) and Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules in 2008. The 1989 Rules were drafted to enable regulatory authorities to control the handling, movement, and disposal of hazardous wastes generated within the country. The amendment in 2000 and 2003 were largely aimed at harmonizing the definition of hazardous waste with provisions of the Basel Convention. The 2008 Rules bring issues of e‐waste management into the ambit of hazardous waste management (Gadgil et al. 2011; Khwaja et al. 2010).
Biomedical Waste Rule
The Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules were issued in 1998 (amended in 2000 and 2003). The Rules are based on the principle of segregation of general waste from biomedical waste (BMW). They lay out color codes for containers, and treatment and disposal options for 10 categories of waste. The state governments have taken initiatives for setting up of Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFs) for processing and disposal of waste. For treatment and disposal of BMW generated in the country, there are 177 common treatment and disposal facilities in operation which were developed by the private entrepreneurs (Gadgil et al. 2011; Khwaja et al. 2010).
E‐Waste Rule
The E‐waste (management and handling) Rules were notified in May 2011, which became operational from May 2012. Concept of Extended Producer Responsibility was introduced in this rule, making producers responsible for environmentally sound management of their end of life products, including collection and their channelization to registered dismantler or recycler. These rules will apply to every producer, consumer, or bulk consumer involved in the manufacture, sale, and purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment or components as specified in Schedule I, collection center, dismantler, and recycler of E‐waste (Gadgil et al. 2011).
Plastic Nonhazardous Waste Rule
The Ministry of Environment and Forests notified the draft “Plastics Manufacture, Usage and Waste Management Rules, 2009” to replace the Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 (amended in 2003) to regulate the manufacture and usage of plastic carry bags. The draft rules were widely published for public comments. An expert committee was constituted by the Ministry to examine these comments and to suggest economic instruments. These Rules were finalized as Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 and notified on 4 February 2011 (Khwaja et al. 2010).
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