New Waste Management Rules
Introduction
The new draft rules has been released in exercise of powers conferred by Environment Protection Act, 1986 and will supersede the Municipal Solid Wastes (management and handling) Rules, 2000, which is 15 years old now and need overhaul.
These rules shall apply to every urban local body, all statutory towns, outgrowths in urban agglomerations as declared by the registrar general & census commissioner of India, notified areas/notified industrial townships, notified area committees, area under Indian railways, defense cantonments, special economic zones in the country and every waste generator.
Salient Features
Management of Solid Waste excluding Construction and Demolition Waste
- Responsibility of Waste Generator
- Segregation and storage of waste in three separate streams namely bio-degradable or wet waste, non bio-degradable or dry waste and domestic hazardous waste in suitable bins
- store separately construction and demolition waste in his own premises, as and when generated and shall dispose off as per these rules
- Duties of Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change
- shall monitor the activities undertaken by central pollution control board, state pollution control boards and the pollution control committees for enforcement of the provisions of the rules
- Duties of Ministry of Urban Development
- take periodic review of the measures taken by the states and urban local bodies for improving solid waste management practices and execution of solid waste management projects funded by the Ministry and external agencies at least once in a year and give advice on taking corrective measures
- guide and facilitate States and Union Territories in formulation of state policy and strategy on solid management based on national solid waste management policy and national urban sanitation policy
- undertake training and capacity building of urban local bodies and other stakeholders
- Duties of Department of Fertiliser
- incentivize the sale of city compost
- Duties of DM, DC
- facilitate identification and allocation of suitable land for setting up solid waste processing and disposal facilities to Urban Local Bodies in his district
- review the performance of urban local bodies, at least once in a quarter and take corrective measures
- Duties of CPCB
- formulate the standards of ground water, ambient air, leachate in respect of all solid waste processing facilities including composting, incineration, land filling
- review environmental standards and norms prescribed for solid waste processing facilities or treatment technologies
- Duties and Responsibilities of Urban Local Bodies
- prepare a solid waste management plan as per State Policy
- develop infrastructure for segregation, collection, transportation, storage, processing and disposal of solid waste in their respective jurisdiction either at its own or through public private partnership mode
- arrange for day to day Collection of segregated bio-degradable and non bio-degradable solid waste or wet waste or dry waste from the door step of all households including slums and informal settlements, commercial, institutional and other non-residential premises
- transport segregated bio-degradable (wet waste) to the processing facilities like compost plant, biomethanation plant or any such facility
- transport non-bio-degradable (dry waste) including wrapped sanitary waste to the respective processing facility or material recovery facilities (MRF) or secondary storage facility
- transport inert waste (non-recyclable, street sweepings and silt collected from the surface drains) directly to disposal facility
- provide easy access to waste pickers and recyclers for collection of segregated recyclable waste such as paper, plastic, metal, glass, textile from the source of generation or from material recovery facilities
- create public awareness through Information, Education a nd Communication (IEC) campaign
What is Different?
- For the first time, segregation at source is being stressed at
- Details of handling construction and demolition waste is being provided
- For the first time distances are mentioned for location of landfill site. It will be either determined after Environmental impact assessment by State Authority or 100 meter away from river, 200 meter from a pond, 500 meter from Highways, Habitations, Public Parks and water supply wells and 20 km away from Airports or
- A buffer zone of no development shall be maintained around landfill sites and sites for processing and disposal of solid waste.
- Standards for composting, incineration has been provided for.
Solid Waste Management Rules was also provided for in 2000, but has mostly remained on papers. The stories of over filled dumping yards still being in use, is not new. The nearby residents have always complained about the bad smell and leachate sinking into the groundwater.
The issue is bigger where finding a landfill site nearby big cities is against ever expanding cities.
The effectiveness and action towards new rules will have to be seen.
