MANAGING WASTE THE RIGHT WAY

The Waste Management in India is a big challenge because of lack of awareness among citizens towards waste as resource and on other hand enforcement of waste management laws are not very strict.

To make the matter complex, building and construction sector the second largest employment generator is also one of the major sources of waste in the country. With rising population and urbanization, the waste production from our buildings including solid waste, water waste and C&D waste is going to become an even bigger problem over the years.

Only in Delhi about 3,800 tons of solid waste remains untreated. This waste dumped at many landfill sites create unsanitized conditions lead- ing to health issues and at the same time also emitting GHGs leading to global warming and climate change. For proper and safe disposal and treatment of waste we need to have source segregation which is almost negligible in India.

As per Namrata Mehra, Lead – ESG, CSR and Sustainability, Godrej Properties had, said, "As responsible developers, we believe that waste matters and we call upon the sector to acknowledge the criticality of integrating waste management as a core part of operations and to uphold higher standards of carbon neutrality. Together we can chart a roadmap for zero waste to landfill within the construction sector in India.”

Dr. Vanita Prasad Founder & CTO, REVY Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd sharing her opinion stated, “Waste is nothing but a resource placed at wrong place at wrong time and we need to find ways to effectively use this resource called waste. By changing our mindset toward waste, we can create processing by scientifically study the quantity and quality of waste generated in an area and then plan location and design of treatment facility. This ap- proach will help us to manage this huge resource called waste which is one third of total global quantity (1.3 billion tons every year).”

Green Buildings & Waste Management

India ranks among top three in the world in green buildings foot-print. ESG and other regulatory compliances are pushing real estate developers to adopt greener solutions. Additionally, the environmental impact of poor waste management and inefficient infrastructure are being recognized by the sector promoting recycle, reuse and repurpose of its waste from, rain water harvesting, use of grey water in landscape to recycling plastic as well as organic waste for compost. The green buildings guidelines help identify various types of waste, calculate the amount of waste building produces and ways to minimize waste and recycle.

The first step towards smart waste management is waste separation into recyclables, non-recyclables, and hazardous waste. Hazardous waste needs special handling due to potential harm such as chemicals, asbestos, lead-based paint, and polluted soil, non-hazardous waste is materials like wood, cardboard, plastics, and metal and inert waste includes materials like bricks, concrete, and rocks.

While informing the staff and occupants on waste sorting is important, teaming up with the waste management partners that can recycle, and dispose of it in eco-friendly ways is the most crucial step for any green building.

As Shareen Bhatia, Country Head – Business Solutions and Marcom, Embassy Services Pvt Ltd had said, “By engaging proj- ect management companies that leverage technology and innovative practices, one can use tailored solutions that address energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, and social responsi- bility, aligning with the highest ESG standards.”

Dr. Vanita Prasad added, “Way forward, for our country is to plan for long-term management of dif- ferent types of waste.Few strategies which we can adapt to minimize dumping waste in landfill can be-: first and foremost is public awareness programs for citizens with the help of NGOs and self-help groups we can educate people about 5R principle i.e. refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and finally, recycle. This will help segregation of waste at source. Further strictly implementing Solid waste management rules it is crucial to penalize those who don’t comply. Then we can plan recycling and resource recovery infrastructure using innovative technologies. And can treat organic waste through composting and bio-methanation to recover energy and nutrients from them. Public-private partnerships and community participation is very important to achieve this daunting task. This way we can shift our country towards circular economy principle for our country’s sustainable development.”

LATEST RECYCLING TECHNOLOGIES

IoT Enabled Waste Management: The recycling industry worldwide is leveraging IoT-enabled fill-level sensors, smart bins and material quality assessing sensors to reduce the inefficiencies in waste manage- ment. For example, monitoring fill levels in garbage containers allows collection facilities to ensure timely pickup and data is further optimized for operational efficiency. In addition, AI is set to play a big role in waste management by automating material analysis, sorting, and picking, reducing human exposure, optimizing waste collection routes and recovering more value from waste.

Chemical Recycling: To generate secondary raw materials from waste, Chemical recycling helps recover materials without degrading their quality. Chemical recycling based secondary materials replace virgin raw materials from the manufacturing supply chain and also reduce carbon emissions. Furthermore, waste valorization solutions can repurpose waste into new products. For instance, the novel recycling technologies convert solid and organic waste into energy and other chemicals, thereby divert waste from landfills.

Recycling Robots: Replacing the human element, given the hazardous nature of waste management, recycling robots are being employed to sort waste, increase the picking speed and improve efficiency.

Green Waste Management: To divert food waste from landfills that contributes to about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, green waste management solutions, upcycle organic waste into biofuel or fertilizers.

Material Life Cycle Extension: Closed-loop recycling is the new way of material life cycle extension, which involves lot various techniques to produce high-quality secondary materials and extend the lifetime of materials.

From recycling programs to e-waste management, the developers are utilizing waste management systems that curtails landfill- bound waste thereby reducing disposal costs, enhancing the occupant’s living standards and organization's brand image that helps in attracting customers.