Zero Waste in India : Some Policy Questions (by Shubhagato Dasgupta, Senior Fellow, CPR)

Niti Aayog – Centre For Policy Research Open Seminar Series  

“Conceptualising Zero-Waste in India under Swachh Bharat: Possibilities & Challenges”  

Monday, 29th June 2015, 15:00 – 16:30 hrs  Room 122 Niti Aayog, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001  

2nd NITI Aayog – Centre for Policy Research: Open Seminar Series

Zero waste in India : Some Policy questions

Shubhagato Dasgupta, Senior Fellow

Theory  on  the  sampling  methodology  

Zero waste : history of the concept

•  The genesis of the zero waste concept : The term Zero Waste has its origins in the industrial efficiancy concepts developed in Japan of total quality management (TQM) and ideas such as ‘zero defects’, that helped producers like Toshiba achieve results as low as one defect per million in manufacturing.

•  The concept of zero waste was first used by Paul Palmer in New Zealand in 1973. Zero Waste forces attention onto the whole lifecycle of products.

•  ZW strategy is based on the hierarchy of 3Rs,

1.  Reduce 2.  Reuse 3.  Recycle, along with producer responsibility and eco-design

•  “Zero waste” reads as contradiction in words “ Just as there can be no light without shadow, so useful matter, to have meaning, requires its opposite – useless waste... If waste didn't exist we would have to invent it” Robin Murray 2002.

•  “The right question to ask, is not whether Zero Waste can be achieved, but how can it be used as a policy driver, …” Zero Waste by Robin Murray 2002.

•  It's a concept that applies to •  Industrial waste •  Wastewater •  Municipal Solid Waste – which is the focus for today

Zero waste : history of the concept

•  The zero waste concept accompanied rising concerns of environmental pollution and the Mainstreaming of Sustainability in Development 

•”The human ecological footprint can not continue to grow at the rate seen from 1900 to 1972….”, Limits to Growth (Club of Rome 1972)

•“The overall aim of achieving sustainable development through the conservation of living resources“, World Conservation Strategy (IUCN &WWF 1980)

•“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs“, Our Common Future (WCED 1987)

•Agenda 21 adopted at the Earth Summit (UNCED 1992)

Zero waste : drivers and spread of the concept

•  Drivers for the Zero waste approach in many parts of the world •  Waste has moved from the margins to the mainstream for policy makers. •  The prime factors include :

•  awareness of the pollution caused by the disposal of waste •  recognition of the significance of waste for – climate change and resource

depletion •  Increased community voice around Locally Unwanted Land Uses(LULU) and

NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) related to waste disposal facilities

•  The practice started in Northern Europe and New Zealand but now more far reaching

•  India has had some early and interesting approaches, some now trying to get to city wide scale •  Kovallam, Exnora Vellore, Chintan, others •  Pune, Mysore, Ahmedabad plans, others •  E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 and Plastic Waste (Management

and Handling) Rules, 2011 •  Now part of the model Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and

Implementation Guidelines (URDPFI, 2015)

From a linear to a circular but hierarchical process

Natural Resources / Raw Material Input

Production (Manufacturing, distribution, etc.)

Consumption

Discarding Treatment

(Recycling, incineration, etc.)

Landfill disposal

First:  Reduc-on  Reduce  waste,  by-­‐products,  etc.  

Second:  Reuse  Use  items  repeatedly  

Fourth:  Thermal  Recycling  Recover  heat  from  items  which  have  no  alterna-ves  but  incinera=on  and  which  cannot  be  recycled  materially  

Third:  Material  Recycling  

Recycle  items  which  can’t  be  re-­‐used  as  raw  

materials  

Fi:h:  Proper  Disposal  Dispose  of  items  which  cannot  be  used  by  any  means  

Zero waste in MSW in India : Policy questions

•  Central role of local government in generating awareness for improving waste management – what types of policy support from State Governments and National Government help?

•  Most geographies moved to zero waste approaches – after putting in place secure waste management processes. What mix of policies can pursue the zero waste approach alongside the building of basic sanitation infrastructure for collection, transport and sanitary landfilling?

•  How should city level investments be phased to strengthen the 3 R hierarchy, without compromising on the current day health and environmental impacts?

•  How can cities ensure that capital investment they make in terms of treatment and disposal facilities do not have a lockdown on the amount of feedstock which places a cap on minimisation, reuse and recycling?

•  If PPPs are implemented – how can one ensure this critical issue?

Zero waste in MSW in India : Policy questions

•  Beyond the local body – how can the States and the National government further support Reduction, Reuse and Material Recovery across MSW?

•  What version of the extended producer responsibility approach to Reuse work in India?

•  Individual or collective stewardship? Shared responsibility or full EPR?

•  What policy approaches could help mitigate the Impacts on livelihoods and businesses?

•  Would a framework legislation around MSW work in India's federal structure?

•  Could the NITI Aayog be the agency to develop a negotiated medium term plan with State Governments and local governments to move towards 3 R approaches in a systematic manner?

Thank you

Agenda

15:00-­‐15:05 Introduc=on  &  Welcome Ms.  Sindhushree  Khullar,  CEO,  Ni=  Aayog

15:05–15:15 Zero-­‐waste  in  India:  Some  Policy  Ques=ons  

Mr.  Shubhagato  Dasgupta,  Senior  Fellow,  Centre  for  Policy  Research

15:15-­‐15:35 Presenta=on:  Mo=va=ng  ci=zens  and  administra=on  for  zero-­‐waste  ci=es:  The  case  of  Pune,  India

Mr.  Kunal  Kumar,  Commissioner,  Pune  Municipal  Corpora=on

15:35-­‐15:55 Presenta=on:  Pathways  to  Zero  Waste  in  the  Indian  Context

Dr.  Ashish  Chaturvedi,  Research  Fellow,  Green  Transforma=ons  Cluster,  Ins=tute  of  Development  Studies,  University  of  Sussex

15:55-­‐16:30 Open  discussion Moderated  by  Ms.  Sindhushree  Khullar,  CEO,  Ni=  Aayog