- Prelims: current events of national and interventions importance(Plastics, Microplastics, Himalaya and Himalayan rivers mapping, biodiversity, National Green Tribunal, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM) 2016, Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) etc
- Mains GS Paper III: Conservation of Environment, Biodiversity and Environment(Environmental Pollution and pollutants and degradation)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- The National Green Tribunal issued notices to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, the Deputy Commissioner Lahaul and Spiti and the Panchayat of Koksar in Himachal Pradesh on waste dumping in eco-sensitive areas by tourists and commercial establishments
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
Plastics:
- A group of materials, either synthetic or naturally occurring, that may be shaped when soft and then hardened to retain the given shape.
- Plastics are polymers. A polymer is a substance made of many repeating units
- Plastics can be divided into two general categories:
- thermoplastics and thermosets.
- Thermoplastics are defined as polymers that can be melted and recast almost indefinitely.
- Thermosets is a polymer that irreversibly becomes rigid when heated
Microplastics:
- They are formed by the degradation and the fragmentation of large plastic pieces that are improperly disposed of.
- Microplastic deposition and accumulation has been found in the Himalayan mountains, rivers, lakes and streams.
- Microplastics can be trapped in glaciers for a long time and released into rivers during snow melting.
Impact on Himalayan ecosystem:
- Unscientific plastic disposal is causing soil and water pollution in the Indian Himalayan Region
- It is impacting its biodiversity
- Adverse impact on the fresh water sources that communities downstream depend on.
- Rapid and unplanned urbanisation and changing production and consumption patterns are responsible for the plastic waste crisis in the Indian Himalayan Region.
- Quantum jump in tourist footfalls is the reason for exacerbation of the problem.
Reports:
- Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation Dehradun(highlighting the plight of towns in Uttarakhand):
- Almost all the mountain States are drowned in plastics.
- National Green Tribunal issued notices to the MEFCC, CPCB, the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, the Deputy Commissioner Lahaul and Spiti and the Panchayat of Koksar in Himachal Pradesh
- on waste dumping in eco-sensitive areas by tourists and commercial establishments.
- In Assam, at the Ramsar site of Deepor Beel, Greater adjutant storks have been feasting on the plastic waste in the landfill instead of fish from the wetland.
- In Manipur, growing pollution in rivers(including the Nambul, has been widely reported.
- The Himalayan Clean up (2018-21):
- conducted by the Integrated Mountain Initiative with Zero Waste Himalayas) and the National Productivity Council of India’s waste and brand audit
- It show increasing plastic waste, especially non-recyclables, in the Indian Himalayan Region.
- The Himalayan Clean up (2022) waste audit results showed that 7% of trash was plastic, with 72% of waste being non-recyclable plastic
India’s Plastic waste management:
● Environment Action(Swiss-based organization) It calls it Plastic Overshoot Day.
● In 2023, India reached its plastic overshoot day on January 6
● India has one of the highest mismanaged waste index (MWI), at 98.55%, in the world (after Kenya, Nigeria and Mozambique)
○ which is the gap in waste management capacity and plastic consumption.
● Statistical analysis(Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) using CPCB data): India is merely recycling (through mechanical recycling) 12% of its plastic waste.
○ Close to 20% of this waste is channelised for end-of-life solutions such as
■ co-incineration
■ plastic-to-fuel and road making
■ Burning 20% of our plastic waste and 68% of plastic waste is unaccounted for
Legal mandate for waste management:
● Regulatory framework:
○ Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM) 2016
○ Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules 2016
○ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) 2022
● Special needs of hill areas are recognised by the SWM but are not factored in while creating a mandate for both local bodies and producers, importers and brand owners (PIBOs),
● PWM and EPR have not recognised the special needs of the hills.
● Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim have special State laws banning the use of plastics.
● Himachal Pradesh has a buy back policy for non-recyclable and single-use plastic waste.
○ There is still widespread littering of plastic waste.
● Sikkim banned packaged mineral water use from January 2022 and has a fairly robust regulatory system.
○ In the absence of proper infrastructure to handle plastic waste, the State is still grappling with the issue.
● Mizoram has been proactive on the regulatory front — the Aizawl Municipal Corporation made by-laws under the PWM in 2019.
● Tripura has made policy changes, enacted municipal by-laws and has a State-level task force to eliminate Single Use Plastic though the results are not visible.
What steps need to be taken?
● The collective mandate of SWM/PWM/EPR requires waste segregation at source.
○ Segregation of different types of plastics is a prerequisite for any strategy to dispose of plastic waste in a scientific and sustainable manner.
● Under the SWM, PWM and EPR, the task of waste management from collection to its scientific disposal is the duty of local bodies.
○ They can take help from PIBOs for the setting up and operationalisation of the plastic waste management system, as mandated under the EPR.
● Though local bodies are the pivot of the waste management system in the country, a commensurate devolution of power to them is still work in progress.
○ Few States have enacted model by-laws and very few local bodies themselves have made by-laws to operationalise the mandate.
● There is a need to include traditional institutions within the definition of local bodies when it comes to the Indian Himalayan Region (prevalent in many States in the northeast).
○ Under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and the Fifteenth Finance Commission, money was allocated to these traditional institutions
Way Forward
- There is a need for appropriate resource allocation and support that is considerate of and reflective of the rich biodiversity, ecological sensitivity and fragility of the Indian Himalayan Region
- Besides taking into account the specific geographical challenges of mountain waste management.
- Empowering local bodies and creating the necessary infrastructure for waste management need immediate attention.
- Segregation of waste and the participation of the people in this endeavor with the help of sustained public education campaigns are a sine qua non.
- Geographical neutrality of targets under the EPR could be countered if the higher cost of EPR operationalisation in the mountain region is given its due consideration.
- The value of the EPR certificate which is earned by a PIBO in the Indian Himalayan Region could be higher than one earned in the rest of the country for every ton of plastic waste processed.
- Data gaps in terms of the quantum and quality of waste being generated in the Indian Himalayan Region States should be plugged.
- Convergence in existing schemes such as SBM, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Finance Commission’s grants could be used to create the infrastructure, maintain and run operations.
- The Swachh Bharat Kosh Trust set up to facilitate the channelisation of philanthropic contributions and corporate social responsibility funds towards this cause could also be used to augment resources.
- The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Scheme under which many cities in the Indian Himalayan Region are selected
- They could work in convergence on the issue of scientific waste management and making cities in the Indian Himalayan Region free of plastic
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
Discuss several ways in which microorganisms can help in meeting the current fuel shortage.(UPSC 2022) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)
