Waste Management- An enriching CSR opportunity for Corporate India

Rapid urbanizationis one of the major factor in which our country is facing a massive waste management challenge today. India suffers from inadequate waste infrastructure and a tremendous increase in solid waste generation per capita. Segregation of waste at source and resource recovery is the key to well- established waste management practice in India. Sanitary landfills are considered to be ultimate means of disposal waste that cannot be reused or recycled. The logistic cost involves transportation of waste to landfill sites which is considered as a major limitation to this method.

In Urban areas people working in the informal sector make a living through the collection (door – to –door), sorting, recycling and selling post-consumer waste. The waste pickers and itinerant waste buyers are not socially accepted, equally treated as they experience verbal, physical abuse and extortion from recycling traders. Failure of segregation of waste by the waste generators results in an inefficiency of collection of post-consumer recyclables, therefore, in the monsoon season, India experiences a variation in recovery of recyclable waste.

A solution can be considering the waste to energy process which generates energy in the form of electricity from municipal solid waste; which can be distributed or decentralized through a local body. However, such plants are not operating to their full potential in India. The majority of India’s waste is organic for which installation of bio-methanation and composting plants could be a solution for processing of biodegradable waste which remains underexploited in India.

The landfills in India cause 20% of the methane gas emissions, the decomposition of inorganic waste has led to contamination of the ground water. 100% success of waste collection by urban local bodies still proves to be a major challenge today only 10% of waste collected is treated, and virtually nothing is scientifically disposed of in engineered integrated sustainable waste management systems. The cities in India, especially in the major cities, have limited land for waste disposal. ULB’s are unable to implement appropriate waste collection strategies due to inadequate funds, resources and infrastructure. India cannot cope with large volumes of waste generated by the increasing urban population, which does not only pose a threat to public health and the environment but is also a significant opportunity for economic gains. India generates 60 million tons of trash every year; the landfills are overflowing with no territorial space for addition land. Delhi produces 9,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste, which is dumped in four landfill sites. Three of the four sites should have been stopped by 2005 to 2009. Mumbai generates 6,500 metric tons of garbage daily out of which 4,500 metric tons is dumped at Deonar dumping ground which is proposed to expire at the end of 2016.

Corporate India should address pertinent issues like waste reduction, community participation in segregation of waste at source, recycling and converting waste into energy as part of their CSR programme. Waste management has a great potential for Companies to get good return as well as contribute to the society by promoting the recycling industry along with eco-industrial production.

Turning waste into energy (Waste Management) is a popular commercial & social option selected by Corporate as one of the activities mentioned in Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013.

Following are sustainable projects implemented by Indian Companies[1].

[1]As per study done by EAI (http://www.eai.in/ref/ae/wte/comp/companies.html)