News & Media The Great Indian Trash Collection Drive

Follow Us on Twitter @EcoWiseWasteMan, LinkedIn @ManikThapar, Instagram @Ecowise_recycle

Blog

  1. Home
  2. Blog
0

What a Waste?

It is no secret now that the Indian economy is struggling. The trade war been the United States and China has some role to play in this, but in my opinion the biggest reason for this down turn has been policy implementation by the government that has not well thought out and the adverse effects that some of these policies have had on business and consumer sentiment. Things are not looking bright in the near future, but there is always hope! With industry leaders meeting with our finance minister, there is hope that that GST will be reduced for purchasing new vehicles, directly benefiting the auto sector, along with relaxing norms for taxation on FPI and reversing the recent draconian ruling on CSR.

This along with many other reforms on the taxation (personal & corporate) and on the labour front are awaited eagerly both by individuals and businesses of all sizes. India, with over 1.2 billion people has slowed down on it consumption of every thing, from FMGC products to clothes and automobiles and it is only domestic consumption that will prop up the economy again. We need to tap into this massive resource by implementing policies that will help put money in their pocket.

There are opportunities as of now that are staring the government in its face, begging they be bought to the forefront, proving massive upside in generating employment, taxes and giving a complete make over to one of the most important unorganised sectors functioning openly in the country. Yes waste management can help add tremendous value to the countries GDP, if only it is formalised by the way of proving it Industry status and bring the unorganised sector within its folds. As of now almost 95% of the sector is working in an unorganised manner, from door – door collection, segregation, transportation, processing (plastic, metals, e-waste, cooking oil etc) and of course disposal. Does the government have any data on this? The answer is a big NO! The sector as a whole provides employment to lack’s off people nationally, besides insuring that India does suffocate in its own waste by the way of collecting our waste, segregating it, aggregating it and sending it further for processing and in some instances recycling the said waste them selves.

Why give industry status to the sector? Well the reasons are compelling as mentioned below.

  1. Financing! Yes the waste management sector is capital intensive and requires companies or individuals to invest in equipment and facilities. Providing industry status insures that the companies and individuals get hassle free loans at subsidised interest rates.
  2. Equity Investment: There are many companies both Indian and from abroad looking to enter the sector, but with no clarity on policy and status their investment is not only not secure but also risky.
  3. Transparency through data: Data is critical in todays day and age to make educated decisions on critical policy aspects. There is limited data and transparency present in the waste management sector as of now due to various reasons such as not capturing the data from the unorganised sector and limited means of measuring and monitoring weight and characteristics of waste collected by municipal bodies. There are many contradicting reports online about the amount of waste generated, segregated, recycled dumped with no clarity on the methodology used to arrive at the figures. Industry status will not only help making the sector more transparent, but also provide critical data that the government can then use to plan ahead, implement systematic policy changes over a period of time as suggested by the data and most importantly communicate effectively and transparently between inter ministerial departments and with the public.
  4. Juxtaposed! Bring the unorganised sector under the preview of the law: As mentioned previously about 95% of the waste management market is working in an unorganised manner. With thousands of small, medium and large vendors engaged in various aspects, but not confined by the law to operate in a certain manner. Taxes for one! Many if not all these vendors working in the unorganised sector are in some way or the other either not paying GST at all or working the “half cash model” where half of their transactions are done in cash and the other half via invoicing that is under invoiced collecting the balance in cash. Most of not all have little overheads and it becomes impossible for organised players to compete with them on price. Yes that is what is happening in the Indian waste management sector as of now, price is the determining factor on which contracts are given and scrap is sold whether that is to do with the government or with the private sector. This needs to change, and the playing field needs to be levelled, by bringing these players under the gambit of the law and then doing checks on them to see what it is that they are doing with the waste. As of now, there is rampant disregard for the rules both in the municipal, e-waste and hazardous waste side of the business, with a nexus between NGO’s, ragpickers, and certain private companies that provide documentation and certification on hire. I can keep going on about this, but in the interest of keeping this article to the point and not repeating myself (which I tend to do) I would like to emphasise on certain other aspects, such as collection of taxes, collecting data and insuring that these individuals and their employees are counted in the countries stats in regards to employment and GDP numbers.
  5. Environmental Benefits: Of course all of this comes with massive environmental benefits! There is ample data available online about the direct correlation between the health and finances. By providing industry status to the sector we are also insuring (of-course through the enforcement of rules and regulations) that best practises are implemented when managing waste. Many if not all my industry colleagues will agree that most if not all the waste collected in India is managed in a manner that is questionable and severely effects pour environment in a negative manner.

This is a low hanging fruit, and the Indian government must now look at this from a purely financial and environment perspective. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been great in spreading awareness about open defecation and segregation of waste, but the outreach has done little in terms of implementing proper waste management practises from a grass root level and up. The merky business of waste that has aspects of corruption, mafia monopoly (scrap & government tenders) has been sold to us for too long as a social sector managed by a few handful of NGO’s and large infrastructure companies, must now be transformed into a engine of growth for the economy and the country as a whole. This is only possible if the government seriously looks and harnesses the true economic, social and environmental potential that the sector holds and realising that in managing our waste today lies the key to a sustainable future.

0

Why Managing Food Loss & Waste is Critical?

Food waste globally is a massive challenge. With all the talk about plastic pollution this stream of waste has not received its due importance as not only does it have an adverse impact on the environment, but also poses one of the gravest social challenges of our times; that of providing sufficient food to over 190 million Indians that suffer undernutrition.

Globally one third of all food produced is either lost or wasted amounting to a staggering $940 in losses annually. If that’s not enough twenty five percent (25%) of all water used for agriculture is consumed in growing this loss. In India, as mentioned above, over 190 million people find them selves without enough food to eat, which represents fourteen point five (14.5%) of the countries population according to a report named “The Sate of Food & Nutrition in The World 2017” making India the largest undernutritioned nation in the world.

Chart Depicting Areas of Food Loss Globally

Chart Depicting Where Food Loss Occurs Globally

Where is this wastage happening? In India it is taking place at every level, harvesting, transporting, processing, packaging & consuming. Weddings, events, restaurants, hotels, homes are major sources of cooked and uncooked waste, but the majority of the food wastage happens before it is packaged, due to transportation and infrastructure bottle necks in the country. The importance measuring and monitoring food from production to consumption cannot be be emphasised enough if this giant needs to be tackled. Measuring & monitoring of waste has many benefits:

  1. Insuring food security
  2. Saving money (Who does not like that!)
  3. Reducing the adverse impact on our environment
  4. Saving landfill space. Land is increasingly a shrinking commodity.

What to measure is as important as why to measure, and there are four distinct components that need to be measured in order for us to derive the required information from the data that has been collected. What to measure:

  1. Timeframe
  2. Type of Material
  3. Destination: Where the waste goes: Example: Animal feed, composting, co-processing, Landfill etc.
  4. Boundary: food categories, lifecycle stage, geography and organisation

After answering the why & what, we come to the the how. According to the food loos and waste protocol there are ten ways in which food waste can measured. Here is a link for your reference to read the ten different ways along with a brief definition of what they entail.

Food Loss & Waste Protocol

We at Eco Wise have devised a simple system that we will begin testing at certain restaurants, to help them reduce their food waste, which in tern will help them reduce that cost associated to procurement and disposal. The system entails a simple process of measuring and documenting purchase, stock, weight food before it is cooked, weight of food after it is cooked, weight of food along with the serving plate, weight of the serving plate after the consumer has consumed the food along with categorising and measuring each type of food bought, cooked, served and wasted. This at first seems like a tedious process, specially in ultra busy restaurants, but the economic advantages cannot be ignored. In a recent survey of 1200 business sites across 17 countries, it was found that ninety nine percent (99%) saved money, with half achieving fourteen fold or greater financial returns.

In our initial conversations with restaurants, we found that none of them are measuring or monitoring their waste, which is not surprising given the profit margins in the Resturant and hospitality business. Yet, if you can show them how they can make even more money by reducing their waste, it’s a win win for them and the environment. Most restaurant owners that we have spoken to are concerned about customer perception, specially to do with the use of plastic, with many if not most doing away with the use of plastic straws due to consumer pressure. The challenge with food waste is that it not been spoken about in the main stream social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or even Linkedin to the extent that we are speaking about plastic pollution. The entire cycle from farm to fork needs to be looked at from a critical perspective, with the sole Moto of reducing wastage at every stage through measuring, monitoring and implementing. Other mainstream campaigns also need to be prepared with the sole purpose of making them viral on social media platforms to inform consumers about the adverse effects of waste food so that reverse pressure may be deployed from the consumer demanding that companies, restaurants and governments start looking at food waste as one of the most serious challenges that we in India and globally face.

0

How Culture & Mindset Determine How We Manage Our Waste

In India traditionally, waste has been looked at in two distinct ways, one which you can sell to your local scrap dealer and the other which is kept at arm’s length to be dealt with by a certain class of individuals. As kids growing up many if not all of us have seen the familiar site of our mothers carefully keeping aside newspaper, milk pouches and iron to be sold to the local scrap dealers for hard cash. As kids many of us probably have never taken our own waste out and handed it over to the waste collector, or emptied it at the local community dump. The social and cultural stigma attached to this practice has been historically embedded in our brains since the time when our caste decided what we could or could not do. Though a lot has changed since then, the dogma associated to waste has continued to haunt us. As we age and enter the work force, we bring with us a certain predisposed mindset concerning how waste should be management and dealt with, which is one of the major reasons as to why I feel companies have the outlook they have when dealing with their waste. 

An organisation is the cumulative thought process of its entire work force, from the bottom, up to the top management. In order for us to progress towards implementing change in our organization, we must start with unlearning certain habits, change our perception of how we determine others value based on preconceived notions that we hold and consider to be so true. Relating this to how companies manage their waste, and the overall situation of waste management in the country, we have massive a transformation that needs to be undertaken, that is; the tough task of changing people’s mindsets.

Where and how do we start? Bringing any transformation, or change requires us to continuously keep asking the question why, till we just cannot answer the why any more. I have done this exercise and arrived at my why? From a young age majority of us have been exposed to a certain way of life and thinking. We learn things looking at how are parents act, friends at school act, what is taught to us in textbooks in school and colleges. In India, it’s your immediate family, god, money, career and marriage, with family and money being the most prominent of them all.

This narrative needs to change, from what we teach our kids, the values we instill in them, to what they are taught in schools about individual responsibility and taking ownership. Our culture, with all the great things it has to offer and teach is also stuck in the dark ages in some practices that may have been relevant historically but have little or no relevance in the new world. Men in India are spoilt beyond belief, first by their mothers who cocoon them to the extent that they are hardly made to help out in daily household chores or clean up after themselves. Mothers in India are so over protective that in many cases men grow up with little sense of communal or household responsibility. Then they expect the same from their wives, cleaning up after them, making their bed, washing their clothes, serving them food, then picking up after them.

A whole generation has grown up without learning about accountability or ownership and you can see it in people you know and meet every day. For the rich kids it’s a lack of personal & financial accountability to their parents and to the society at large, growing up with the false sense that somehow their parent’s success and accomplishments have been transferred to  them simply by the fact that they are some one’s children. For the poor it is the constant thought of being poor, reinforced by our society by constantly referring to them as helpless and poor, giving them handouts for free and eventually making them so use to living on hands outs that they start thinking that it is their birthright to receive them.

Not taking accountability or ownership of why they find themselves in a certain position and making financial background an excuse to not change their lives. I concede that there are those who are desperate and require the help of society at large to uplift them out of extreme poverty, but beyond a point it becomes the responsibility of the individual to pull themselves out of a given situation by not focusing on what resources that they don’t have, but by being resourceful and using the resources that they do have. Kids growing up poor have a hard time, as they are not exposed to a variety of things, most critical of those being proper education and health related habits. Some of them overcome this great disadvantage that life has thrown at them to be successful beyond belief, but most are caught up in the mindset of being poor or in making quick money by cutting corners. Then there is the great Indian middle class, sandwiched between the two, confused about whether they are rich or poor, Canadian, British, American or Indian. Coming from a middle-class upbringing myself, my father was fighter pilot in the Indian Airforce, my mother a school teacher I grew up with a sense of having, yet lacking but always aspiring for more.

What I derived looking at this confused state of mine while growing up and throughout high school was feeling of always comparing what I had to what my friends or neighbors had. I guess the biggest flaw in the middle-class way of thinking is that of not appreciating what one has and to continually look at two opposite spectrums of society thinking we are better than one but worse off than the other. 

In all three cases mentioned above what is the common thread? Mindset. Challenges faced by us as individuals, collectively as a society and as a Nation can only be overcome if we start changing ourselves through behavioral interventions that force us to stop, think, evaluate and then act based on our learnings, experiences and beliefs, which are directly co-related to the early stages of our childhood and then reinforced throughout our lives either through positive reaffirmation which also include inaction in the form of ignoring an act or habit. This must be a continuous process, starting from how and what we teach our kids at home, what and how our educational institutes teach in school and colleges and finally how and what we are rewarded for at work. 

0

Article on Opportunities In Waste Management & Environment Business India

Opportunities in the waste management & environment business: 

This is brief concept note to answer many of the questions that I have been receiving from individuals looking to enter the waste management business. I have divided this article into the following sections: 

1.     Industry Size 

2.     Different Segments, investment and equipment needed 

3.     Knowledge & resources 

4.     Challenges

Industry Size: As per estimates made by our organization the industry is pegged at $42 Billion and growing rapidly. These estimates include, government tenders, recycling market size, hazardous waste and E-waste market. How did we arrive at this figure? By considering our own data that we have collected first hand over the last fifteen years, collecting and sorting data from all our vendors, visiting scrap dealers and recycling facilities and getting data from them as to how much waste they process and further sell out into the market. We also looked at government tenders across India in the field of waste management in terms of value along with visiting various large players in the unorganized sector that are involved in E-waste dismantling and car scrap dismantling. In my personal opinion the figure mentioned above is on the lower side and the industry size could be a lot larger, but we are certain about on fact, it is growing rapidly at 20% per year or more as more 7 more companies are being forced to comply with the law along with increased consumption, specially from tier 1 & 2 cities. Extended producer responsibility has added to the demand as companies now need to comply with this new legislation creating new business opportunities for existing players and new entrants.

Segments: Investment & Equipment Needed: 

1.     Waste collection: Sorting: Aggregation: Sale/Processing (Non Hazardous Waste) The biggest challenge that the country faces is the collection and segregation of waste. This market is completely dominated by the unorganized sector (95%) from residential, commercial and industrial sectors. With the onset of SWM rules 2016, residential establishments, companies, and industries now need to follow a host of rules and regulations. This has caused them to start looking for organizations or individuals who can manage their waste and provide them with data in form of reports along with proof of what is happening to the waste. 

a.     What is required: 

 i.     Warehouse where waste can be segregated and stocked 

ii.     E-rickshaw, paddle rickshaw, small trucks (tata Ace) for collection

iii.     Man power for collection & segregation 

iv.     In house composing or a tie up with an organization who can compost the waste for you. Search google you will find many of them. 

 v.     Finances: Under the startup India program the government is offering many incentives for entrepreneurs setting up new businesses. Speak to you accountant or better go onto google and do the research

vi.     Don’t have capital to buy a truck? Lease it! No down payment, no maintenance, no insurance cost, its all looked after by the company who you have leased the vehicle from. Start mall may be with a few rickshaws first till you build capacity. 

vii.     Network of scrap buyers: They are easy to find and once you have set up your operations will approach you by themselves. Waste normally goes through at least six hands before it reaches the end recycler. Once you have enough volume you may do away with these middle men and start supplying directly to recycling units. This will entail, putting in place a few addition segregation steps which you will learn along the way. 

viii.    Tie up with existing companies to leverage their network: There are many companies in this domain some that claim to be doing a lot and others who actually are. Do you research, visit their facilities do some investigative journalism before tying up with a company to act as their partner. 

2.         E-Waste: Collection, Storage, Dismantling, Recycling & Refurbishment: Read the E-waste management rules and get an understanding of the compliance requirements that are required. This is a massive industry that is again completely functioning in the unorganized sector. Just look at all the electronic devices that we as individuals own, multiply that by the country’s population (most if not all now have cell phones and TV I would say at least 70%), look at all the companies and the electronic devices they have and I can keep going on and on. This my friends is the future and there are only two companies in all of India who are actually processing E-waste! Research this online and see what part of the process you want to be involved in and accordingly get the requisite permissions to start. 

a.     What is Required: 

i.     Warehouse 

ii.     Small truck for collection 

iii.     Dismantling/Recycling equipment 

iv.     Permissions from Pollution control board to operate 

v.     Tie up with recycler if you are only dismantling or stocking 

b.     NOTE: Watch my video on certificate on hire and how this industry operates as of now. Make sure that you don’t follow in their footsteps and actually set up a process that adds value.  All the required information is available online for free. 

3.     Paper Shredding/Document Destruction Services: Many organizations have the need to discard their confidential documents and most don’t have heavy duty shredders at their facilities. The market size is not massive but growing and the barriers to entry are limited to having the right equipment in place. 

a.     What is Required: Heavy duty paper shredding machine. (Cross cut or Ribbon cut) 

b.     Small warehouse to stock the goods 

Plenty of buyers in the market for paper, you will be spoiled for choice. 

4.     Recycling Plastic: There are many different types of plastic and they all require to be recycled in a specific manner. The opportunity here is massive as again most of the industry is operating in an unorganized manner. With the onset of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) the demand for authorized, CPCB/SPCB recyclers has grown ten folds and the sector is not ready for it. Every brand needs to comply with these rules and as of now it’s like the wild wild west out there with NGO’s and companies pooping up calling themselves experts in the field. The key to success here is the unorganized sector ragpickers and scrap dealers, as they will be your source of input material unless you have your own collection in place. Ground work to establish a network will have to be done by you, get out there and start meeting with these individuals to understand how they operate and types of plastic waste that they can supply to you. There are hundreds and thousands of these operators across the country and easy to spot everywhere. 

a.     What is required 

i.     Ware house 

ii.     Small truck for collection 

iii.     Team to segregate the waste into different categories: Most individuals who do the plastic segregation process are specialized and know exactly what is what by touching it or even by looking at it. You will need a contractor, most of the are from Bengal and they can be found in Mundka, tekri and other plastic hubs of Delhi 

 iv.     Machinery: Grinder, Washer, Dryer, etc. You don’t need to buy them all and may start with just one part and slowly expand by adding additional steps till you get to the stage where you are actually recycling and making new products out of the waste that you receive. 

5.     Composting: Food waste is another huge opportunity that is waiting to be tapped. Most if not all food waste is dumped in the landfill when you can actually convert this into compost, bio-gas of CNG. The best thing to do is to start a collection drive from hotels, banquet halls, and other bulk generators of organic waste and bring it to your facility for processing. Processing can be done using the following methods:

a.     Verme composting: suing worms to convert organic waste into compost. You will require land and will have create pits and provide cover to the worms. Details can be found on google. 

b.     Windrow composting: land will be required, and waste will have to be churned every few days adding enzymes to expediate the composting process. Again plenty of information is available on google. 

c.     In vessel composting: This is composting in enclosed containers and does not require much space. You can convert the organic waste into manure, cooking gas or CNG depending on your requirements. 

d.     Community Composting: The solid waste management rules state that any establishment, commercial, residential or industrial covering over 5000 sq/meters of waste must compost their waste inhouse. The opportunity lies in establishing units within the compounds of these establishments by leasing the equipment to them and charging a monthly fee for maintenance and operations. 

i.     Where do you sell this?: Nurseries, households, online on Amazon, through Instagram and face book the potential is unlimited.

6.     Up Cycling & Refurbishment: You will be surprised what all people and companies actually throw out or sell. Many of these items can be refurbished and then sold out again as new or second-hand goods. Wood, Electronics, PET bottles, glass bottles, clothes can all be given a new life. What is the market size? Its small but growing. This is a niche market & sales can be channeled through online portals for free.

a.     What is required? 

i.     Deciding what product you want to work on. E.g. furniture from waste wood, creating decorative items from paper, PET or glass bottles etc. 

ii.     Designer who can help you design products 

iii.     Carpenter or other such people who can give reality to your ideas.

iv.     Online presence on Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, LinkedIn 

v.     Website or a landing page 

I will be writing an article about EPR and the specific of how you may enter this market next week along with some other opportunities in the waste water recycling and small scale energy generation from waste water that I have and will share with you in my next post. There is an abundance of information and work out there for individuals who are willing to make the effort to seek information, lean and then act on it. Unfortunately, most people either want to be middle men, earn without doing much or let their fears hold them back from actually realizing their dreams.   

If any of you reading this article have anything to add to it please feel free to comment. The idea is to prove the reader with a frame work of where the opportunities lie, research, ground work and implementation will have to be done by the reader. 

0

Why Measuring & Monitoring Your Waste Is Important.

The importance of measuring and monitoring the waste that you generate from your facilities cannot be underplayed. Monitoring and measuring your waste line can benefit your organization in more ways than one. 

  1. Reducing your Cost: Simply by monitoring the waste that you generate you can start implementing a process of recovering products that can be re-used again, repaired and then sold in market for a higher price, cut down on consumption of certain items that are most prominently present in the waste. For example, if you have watercoolers around your office and employees are using disposable plastic glasses, you can very easily put an end to it by implementing a policy of carrying your own water bottles (Steel) or provide reusable good quality steel glasses. 
  2. Know Your Wastage in revenue Terms: by measuring your waste, you get concrete idea about what percentage of wastage you are generating in comparison to your production and purchase. Measurement, needs to be precise and based on types of waste that you are generating. For example, in the hospitality industry, measuring food waste can seriously help in reducing costs. May be your food portions are too large, or maybe you are over ordering a certain type of food. In manufacturing maybe you are wasting too much, and measuring your waste will help you improve and correct process where waste is being generated in excess. 
  3. Reduce & Eliminate Theft: Expensive high value products can very easily be mixed with food waste or scrap and transported out of your facility. By monitoring your waste and implementing certain practices, such as disposing wet and recyclables in clear see through bags you can reduce or eliminate the possibility of this occurring. 
  4.  Implement a sound sustainability policy: Measuring & monitoring your waste provides you with data, which can then be used for various reporting initiatives such as sustainability reporting and meeting ESG & SDG goals.
0

Immediate Policy Intervention: Industry Status Recognition: Waste Management India

Can you believe it? The waste management sector in not officially recognized as an Industry by the government of India! As astonishing as this sounds, it is also alarming, specially for a country that desperately needs private sector participation to workable provide solutions along with much needed investment. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has mostly focused on building toilets to counter the challenge of open defecation in cities and villages. Waste Management under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been dismal failure of mega propositions. Besides photo opts and some localized cluster success stories that are far from scalable, the program has not been able to achieve the intent that it was created for. Changing the minds of Individuals and cleaning the towns and cities of India.

As a private organization working in the field of waste management for the last decade, we have faced an uphill battle trying to get simple permissions to collect, transport, segregate and dispose municipal solid waste. This after the government itself has mandated in MSW rules 2016 that the private sector, ragpickers and the unorganized sector must be encouraged to partake and help rid the country of monumental crisis that it is staring at. No industry status means the sector is always looked upon from a social angle, there is little or no interest shown by private or public-sector banks to fund projects in this field and the sector as a whole has no voice when it comes to voicing its concerns or demands. 

Try going to any government municipal body and ask for the following: 

1.     Permission to collect non-hazardous waste 

2.     Permission to dispose non-hazardous waste at the authorized dump site 

3.     Permission to set up a dry waste collection and sorting center for recyclables 

The answers range from, it cannot be given too we have already contracted the entire cities garbage contract to a private company, if we give it to you we will have to give It to everyone, and finally the golden question, what will we get in return? 

What we are proposing: 

1.     Provide permissions to private players small and large to 

a.     Collect municipal waste 

b.     Set up waste segregation and stocking facilities 

c.     Tip waste at authorized government sites and pay the government a tipping fee 

d.      Bring about changes in the MSW rules(Attached Document with Suggestions) 

e.      Permissions to collect non-hazardous, industrial and commercial waste

Not only will these steps help in promoting the sector as whole, it will also bring in much needed competition which in term will lead to setting of best practices and additional generation of revenue for the government. Privatization of waste collection, transportation, segregation/storage facilities is key to insuring a thriving waste management sector. Numerous other benefits can be derived by allowing easy access to private companies or individuals to start operating in this sector: Some of these benefits are:

1.     Create Employment: With lacs of young individuals flooding the market every year, the waste management industry if allowed to thrive will act as a sponge to provide much needed avenues for these individuals to apply them selves 

2.     Add to the GDP of our country. According to an independent study done by us, the waste management industry as off now stands organized and unorganized stands at about $45 billion in India. This includes Municipal waste, hazardous waste, E-waste and the recycling industry. This figure does not account other support industries such as truck and equipment manufacturing, IT, petroleum and many others that will directly benefit for this growth. 

3.     Added revenues for the government and in terms of fines and tipping fee, along with reduction in collection, transportation costs as local companies will be able to do the same tasks more efficiently.

4.     Provide the private bulk waste generators an option to select the best possible vendor at the lowest price to meet their waste management needs, where by reducing their costs.

5.     Help create a data base of what types of waste is being generated from industries, commercial establishments, residential establishments across the country. Data is the key to making the best possible decisions in terms of changing tactics, utilizing the correct technology and predicting the future generation of waste with educated estimates.

A full policy change document has been attached along with article that we have submitted to various state governments. 

The Below Policy Note is protected by the Copyright Act, 1957 and all rights in respect of the same are reserved by Mr. Manik Thapar (the “Author”). The reader of this Policy Note shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, republish, download, display, post or transmit in any form or by any means (“Use” or “Used”), without the prior written consent of the Author. ”

Concept Note: Authorization for Waste Collection, Transportation, Storage,  Segregation & Disposal

The ministry of forest and environment recently updated and formulated MSW rules 2016, outlining the responsibilities of municipal authorities, waste generators, bulk waste generators, waste collectors and the role and inclusion of rag pickers in the process of waste collection and disposal. The guide lines are mandatory and are to be followed by all municipal authorities on a national basis.

The purpose of this document is to bring about policy change, so that private companies large and small wanting to enter the waste, collection, transportation, segregation, treatment and disposal business are provided with clarity on regulations and permissions required in order for them to enter this sector. With rapid urbanization, increase in earnings and consumption, generation of waste is an ever-growing concern. As of now there is no policy to include private participation in this sector, other than the tendering route, which caters only to large companies and requires mega investments. There lies a huge opportunity to regulate and open up the waste collection, transportation, segregation, treatment and disposal business to private enterprise. 

MSW Rules 2016 mention and dictate local authorities and municipal corporations to involve the private sector along with the informal sector in the entire process of managing waste, specifically in collection, segregation and resource recovery. Yet, there is no clarity on policy available to private organizations wanting to invest in the collection, segregation, treatment and disposal side of the business as a whole or individually. There is dire need of investment in the waste management sector, and private companies and the informal sector should be tapped not only for investment purpose, but also for their knowledge and expertise in the field of waste collection resource recovery and treatment. Further the concerned state governments can generate tremendous revenue from charging tipping fees to private companies or individuals who use government owned and operated landfill sites for the purpose of waste disposal. 

Globally, waste management as a sector has been given Industry status, but here in India, the sector still does not have any official recognition nor is it considered an industry. As a result, it becomes tough for the few organized, and vast number of unorganized players to get financing through banks, for regulators to regulate the sector due to no clear policy. In most developed and some developing nations, waste management is as a sector is completely privatized and monitored through tough regulations. In all of these countries, the government and local authorities have understood that a handful of companies cannot manage the waste of the entire country, they need small and large players to partake in different parts of the waste management process, from collection, segregation, treatment and final disposal. Guided by a strong policy and enforcement mechanism and the understanding that competition is good for the industry, these countries have been able to not only manage their waste effectively, but also create a booming industry that employee’s lacs of people and supports the growth of other supporting industries, such as truck manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, IT services and host of other small and large businesses that provide support to this sector. 

Details of Policy Intervention needed: MSW rules 2016 provide a guide line to central and state pollution control boards, along with providing instructions with defined time lines to local authorities and municipalities. The rules apply to every local body, outgrowths in urban agglomerations, census towns as declared by the registrar general and census commissioner of India, notified areas, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports ports and harbors, defense establishments, special economic zones, state and central government establishments, place of pilgrims, religious and historical importance as may be notified by respective state government from time to time and to every domestic, institutional, commercial and any other nonresidential solid waste generator situated in the areas except industrial waste, hazardous waste, hazardous chemicals, bio medical waste, e-waste. Lead acid batteries, and radioactive waste, that are covered under separate rules framed under the environment protection act of 1986. 

Workings: The suggestions made in the following document can be implemented in the current system, to increase efficiencies, promote private investment and competition within the prevailing waste management system. Currently there are many cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh that have either tendered the waste collection system to private enterprises or are looking to tender the waste collection, transportation, segregation, treatment and disposal system as a whole or in parts to private companies. As you may be aware the current system in place is unable to cope with the tremendous amounts of waste that is being generated, in urban areas and the challenge will spread to rural areas sooner than later. The current process leaves a lot of room for SME’s and the unorganized sector to actively partake in managing waste, weather through collection, material recovery, treatment or disposal, while providing the local bodies with much needed revenue in terms of disposal fees charged to these private companies. 

The system suggested will not interfere with the current process, as there will be no liability no contractual liability on the government to provide work to such entities. Through structured policies the government will only provide permissions to these entities to enter specific or all aspects of the waste management business, based on pre-determined criteria’s that must be met before granting of permissions to such entities. Households, commercial and industrial establishments who require specialized services or have specific needs that are not being met by the specified government contractor will have options to hire a private contractor to undertake such jobs. This will not only provide much needed boost to the sector by giving it industry status, but will also insure that best practices are implemented at a micro and macro level.  

Policy intervention as per MSW rules 2016: 

Point 4 – Duties of waste generator – (1) Every Waste Generator Shall-

Sub point (a) – sub point (a) states the following: segregate and store the waste generated by them in three separate streams, namely, bio-degradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous waste in suitable bins and handover segregated wastes to authorized waste pickers or waste collectors as per the direction or notification by the local authorities from time to time

The point above clearly mentions that the waste must be handed over to the authorized waste picker or waste collector, but there is no policy in place for private companies, waste pickers or the unauthorized vendors to apply for such permissions. Most authorities and municipalities are clueless about how authorization can be given and in absence of proper clarity simply refuse to provide such permissions. The business of collection, transportation, open segregation and dumping continues in all cities in India and a major reason for this is the lack of participation from private players in absence of a clear policy mandate. The government needs to urgently take the following steps in order to facilitate the inclusion of the unorganized sector and to attract investment in the sector from private enterprises looking to invest in certain or all parts of the waste management eco system: 

1.    Promote private participation in collection, transportation, segregation, treatment, and disposal of municipal solid waste. 

a.    Collection of MSW: Private companies should be allowed to collect waste from industries, commercial establishments and residential establishments based on the following criteria’s:

      i.     Collection must be done in trucks or vehicles that are equipped to be covered and by only those vehicles that can be registered with the local RTO. 

      ii.     The local authority or municipal authority will not be liable to pay the private agency undertaking such activity, and the private agency must charge the generator of waste a fee it so deems fit.

     iii.     The private collection agency must register itself with the local authority/municipal corporation and the state pollution control office of the region for the purpose of verification and validity of the said organization or person.

     iv.     The local state pollution control board, in conjunction with the local authority/municipality can levy fines and cancel the registration of private companies and individuals who do not abide by the rules along with imposing fines for non-adherence of rules. 

      v.     Workers involved in the process of collection should be insured under ESI/PF or through private insurance. Third party insurance must be made mandatory so that any damage to public or private property is covered to up to a minimum of  

b.    Transportation: Private companies and individuals should be allowed to transport the collected waste to either a MRF for segregation, composting unit, waste to energy unit, bio gasification unit or to the local landfill/dump site for disposal purposes depending on the type of waste collected and transported. The following criteria should be applied to private companies or individuals looking to transport waste:

      i.     Waste must be transported in a manner so that it is not visible to the public

      ii.     Waste must be covered in a manner that it does not fly off or drop from the truck during the transportation process.

      iii.     The collector and transporter must ensure that all waste that is recyclable is segregated and sent to associated recycling units and all waste that is bio degradable is sent to the composting, bio gasification or waste to energy plants. If the said vendor does not have processing unit of his own, he must be liable to pay the operator of such a unit a fee as deemed necessary by the operator of such a unit. This fee must be based on a per ton/per kilogram basis.

       iv.     Only waste that has no value and cannot be recycled, up-cycled or converted to useful forms should be disposed of in the landfill site. 

       v.     All waste disposed at the government landfill site must be weighed and the local authority must be paid in accordance to the rates decided by them on a per ton/per kilogram basis.

      vi.     Vehicles transporting waste must have all valid permits to ply on the road. List of these vehicles must be provided to the concerned authorities, including the concerned local pollution control office and local authority and municipality to ensure that only these vehicles are used for the purpose of collection or transportation of waste to the concerned sites. It is also imperative that only those vehicles registered with the competent authorities be allowed to enter and tip their waste at the landfill or dump site. This will insure that no illegal dumping takes place at the concerned site by individuals or companies that are not authorized to do so. 

c.    Segregation: Private companies and or individuals must be allowed to segregate the waste to recover valuable recyclables to minimize the amount of waste ending up in landfills. The following criteria must be followed to insure safe and secure recovery of recyclables: 

      i.     The private agency or individual must undertake the activity of waste segregation in an enclosed compound that is covered and has cemented flooring. 

      ii.     All waste that is segregated for the purpose of further reprocessing must be sent to authorized recyclers of the said product.

      iii.     In case of manual segregation of waste, special care must be given to the health and wellbeing of the employees evolved. The MRF can and should also be allowed to except waste from outside vendors. In this case collection and transportations is done by third party vendors and the operator of the MRF procures this waste at a given rate from the collector. Site such as these can and should be promoted for decentralized sorting of MSW from homes, industries and commercial establishments.

      iv.     Dumping of recyclables and mix garbage in open fields or open ware houses on bare ground should be prohibited, as it not only promotes unhealthy waste segregation practices, but also encourages the concept of open dumping.

     v.     Only waste that cannot be recycled or treated should be dumped at the authorized landfill or dump site. The vendor must pay the concerned authorities a tipping fee as determined by the operator of the landfill/dump site. 

Sub point (c) Store separately construction and demolition waste, as and when generated, in his own premises and shall dispose off as per the construction and demolition waste management rules 2016

Construction waste is one of the most pressing issues the waste management sector faces today. With growing amounts of commercial, industrial and residential construction happening around the country, and the lack of treatment facilities for such kind of waste, construction and demolition waste is mostly dumped in an unauthorized and unregulated manner in open dumps, or in empty tracks of land. The ministry of forest and environment has formulated the construction and demolition waste management rules 2016. 

Promotion and participation of private companies is a must in the collection, treatment and final disposal of C&D waste, as this will bring in much needed investments in the treatment collection and storage side of the business, along with generating tremendous amounts of revenues for the local authorities in the way of tipping fees. The following criteria must be applied to private companies or individuals looking to enter the C&D collection, transportation, Treatment and Disposal business. 

       i. C&D Collection: The collection of C&D waste by private companies and individuals must be based on the following criteria, which also include the roles and responsibilities of the generator of C&D waste:

a.    The Waste Generator must segregate the recyclables from the C&D waste and store all such waste in a clearly marked skip. 

b.    The construction debris must be filled in sacks and then stored in skips that are easily accessible via small, medium or large trucks. 

c.    Depending on the project size, specialized bins must be placed for large projects that generate five tons or more of C&D waste on a daily basis. These can be roll on roll off bins if such equipment is available by the collector/transporter or the waste must be filled in sacks and then stocked in one large bin or in multiple bins for the purpose of collection. The bins must be accessible via, small, medium and large trucks and should be placed at a height so that the content in the bins can be easily emptied into the truck without too much manual lifting involved. 

d.    The generator and the collector must have the contents weighed at an authorized government weigh bridge or on a calibrated weigh scale at the generators location for the purpose of record keeping.

e.    The generator must pay the collector/transporter a fixed fee based on a per kilogram rate.

f.     The collector/transporter must insure that all recyclable waste is sent for the purpose of recycling after recording all such waste in presence of the generator. The generator can demand a rebate in the collection fee amount based upon the value of recyclables recovered 

g.    The collector/transporter must insure that all C&D waste collected must be transported to the closest C&D treatment facility and pay the operator of such a facility a tipping fee as determined by the operator of the facility. In absence of such a facility, the collector/transporter must insure that the waste is disposed off in accordance and in guidance of the local bodies.

h.    All efforts must be made to utilize the waste for filling purposes and only and only after exhausting all alternatives the waste must be disposed off in the authorized landfill/dump site belonging to the government.

i.      The collector/transporter must pay a tipping fee to the local bodies to such an amount as decided by the local bodies. The fee must be charge on a per kilogram basis. The tipping fee for C&D waste must be charged at a higher rate than that of general waste. This will put pressure on companies and individuals to minimize the amount of waste that they generate and look at alternative and new methods of contractions that limit or reduce wastage. 

j.      The collector/transporter must during the process of transporting the C&D waste insure that the vehicle used is covered and not overloaded. 

k.    The vehicle must have tipping mechanism so that unloading of the waste does not require labor 

l.      All sacks in which the construction debris is filled must be recovered by the waste collector and reused for the purpose of filling debris. These sacks where ever possible must be returned to the client for the purpose of filling and stocking the construction debris.

Sub point (d) Store horticulture waste and garden waste generated from his/their premises separately in their own premises and dispose as per direction of the local body from time to time. As of now local bodies have no policy in place for disposal of horticulture waste most of this waste is dumped in open dumpsites and some of it is used as kindly wood used for cooking purposes. Private companies or individuals should be allowed to collect, transport, treat and dispose all such waste, generated from residential, commercial and industrial establishments. The collection of horticulture waste by private companies and individuals must be based on the following criteria: 

a.    The collection of waste must happen in vehicles that can cater to transport such waste in a manner that the waste does not fly off the trucks. 

b.    The collection agency must either transport such waste to the closest composting, waste to energy or brisket manufacturer for the purpose of treatment.

c.    The private agency or individual must pay a fee as determined by the facility operator tip the waste at their facility. The tipping fee charges must be on a per kilogram basis.

d.    In the absence of any such facility present, the collector/transporter must tip the waste at the authorized landfill/dump ground and pay the government a fee for tipping such waste. The fee should be charged on a per kilogram basis as deemed necessary by the local authorities or operator of the landfill.  

Duties of waste generator point (4): No person shall organize an event or gathering of more than one hundred persons at an unlicensed place without intimidating the local body, at least three working days in advance and such person or the organizer of such event shall ensure segregation of waste at source and handing over the of segregated waste to waste collector or agency as specified by the local body. 

Numerous such functions take place throughout the country on a daily basis, post completion of such functions waste is found to be littered in and around the event venue. Private organizations or individuals should be allowed to collect, segregate, treat and dispose waste from such functions based on the following criteria:

a.    Collection of waste from unlicensed venues must take place in accordance to the rules mentioned in MSW rules 2016. The generator or organizer of the waste must insure that all waste generated be segregated and then disposed of in a segregated manner in different dustbins. 

b.    Collection of such waste must happen on a daily basis for the duration of the event. 

c.    The event organizers must pay a collection fee to the waste collection agency 

d.    The collection agency must insure that all waste collected is transported in covered trucks so that no waste flies off or falls from the truck during the transportation process. 

e.    All waste collected must be segregated at the collection agencies facility or at the closest MRF. In absence of such facilities, the waste must be segregated at the authorized landfill or dump site belonging to the local authorities. The recyclables recovered from the waste must be sent for recycling and the organic waste to closest composting or waste to energy plant. The collection agency is liable to pay a tipping fee to the operator of all such facilities as decided by the facility operator. 

f.     Waste that cannot be treated or recycled must be dumped in the landfill or dumpsite and a tipping fee must be paid to the appropriate government authorities. The fee should be charged on a per kilogram basis.

Duties of Generator Point (6): all residential welfare and market associations shall, within one year of the date of notification of these rules and in partnership with local bodies insure segregation of waste at source by the generator as prescribed in these rules, facilitate collection of segregated waste in separate streams, handover recyclable waste to either the authorized waste picker or authorized recycler. The bio degradable waste must be processed, treated and disposed off through composting or bio methanation within the premises as far as possible. The residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local body. 

Door – Door collection of waste in most residential societies or homes can be broken down into three different categories: 

1.    Collection from High Income Neighborhoods 

a.    Collection from high income neighborhoods are done by private contracts in most cases. Over ninety five percent of these contractor’s function in the unorganized sector and collection is done using a cycle rickshaw in most cases. After the collection of waste is done from houses/flats located within a community or area the waste is taken to either an empty field or the contractors’ warehouse which in most cases is in the open and unregistered or to local community bins. The contractor proceeds to segregate the waste here to recover the recyclable waste for the purpose of selling it. The inert and organic waste is either left at the community bin or disposed of in unauthorized sites/empty plots. The segregated recyclable waste is transported to open warehouses in empty plots of land, mostly in villages where this waste is stored in the open and then sold to various scrap traders. Some of these unauthorized vendors collect the waste and then bring it directly to their warehouse, where the waste is segregated into different categories. Post the recovery of recyclables, the inert and organic waste is dumped illegally in open tracks. 

2.    Collection from Middle Income Neighborhoods 

a.    Collection from middle income neighborhoods are done by private contracts in most cases. Over ninety five percent of these contractor’s function in the unorganized sector and collection is done using a cycle rickshaw in most cases. After the collection of waste is done from houses/flats located within a community or area the waste is taken to either an empty field or the contractors’ warehouse which in most cases is in the open and unregistered or to local community bins. The contractor proceeds to segregate the waste here to recover the recyclable waste for the purpose of selling it. The inert and organic waste is either left at the community bin or disposed of in unauthorized sites/empty plots. The segregated recyclable waste is transported to open warehouses in empty plots of land, mostly in villages where this waste is stored in the open and then sold to various scrap traders. Some of these unauthorized vendors collect the waste and then bring it directly to their warehouse, where the waste is segregated into different categories. Post the recovery of recyclables, the inert and organic waste is dumped illegally in open tracks. 

3.    Collection from Low Income and Slum Areas:

a.    Collection from low income neighborhoods and slum areas poses specific challenges. In low income neighborhoods collection becomes a task as accessibility is a huge issue. Most if not all of these colonies are either unauthorized or constructed in such a manner that it becomes tough for trucks or small or large to enter the area for collection purposes. In most of these colonies as off now waste is just dumped in open collection points or thrown out of one’s house onto open areas. In some instances, waste is collected using cycle rickshaws or wheel barrows and then dumped in open dumpsites located in the vicinity or within the area itself. Waste from these dumps is then collected by the government agencies and transported without segregation to the landfill or dumpsites. According to our study, some neighborhoods pay a nominal fee of rupees twenty per month per house to local vendors/unorganized sector for removal of waste from their houses, but the majority do not pay a fee and simply dump the waste where suitable. Private agencies should be encouraged to collect from slum areas and from low income housing societies by the concerned authorities. 

4.    Collection, Transportation, Segregation and Treatment Process & Criteria for Residential Establishments: 

a.    Collection Process: The collection of waste from residential colonies must be done in three halves, the first being collection of dry recyclable waste, second being the collection of organic waste and the third being the collection of inert waste. Horticulture and household hazardous waste should be collected separately. The process of collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of horticulture waste has been defined in this document, and the process of household hazardous waste will be defined separately as part of this document. As defined in MSW rules 2016 individual houses are responsible for segregation of their own waste into recyclables and wet waste. All gated communities of more than 5000 sqm area must ensure segregation of waste at source, collection of segregated waste in separate streams, and hand over the material to authorized waste pickers, private companies or authorized recyclers. The bio degradable waste must be treated and converted into compost within the premises as far as possible.  To facilitate this entire process private participation is of utmost importance, and will help in insuring that the waste collected is optimized to its fullest. 

b.    Transportation Process: The waste collected must be transported in a cover truck to ensure that no waste flies off the truck littering the streets that the tuck is travelling on. 

c.    Segregation Process: MSW rules 2016 clearly mention that all waste generated at residential level must be segregated and then handed over to the authorized waste collector or recycling agency. All segregated waste such as recyclables must be sent directly to the recycling facility. If the collection agency so decides to stock the goods at their facility, they must do so according to the following criteria:

i.     The stocking facility must be covered and in an industrial area 

ii.     The facility must have flooring made of cement 

iii.     The facility must be open to the public, for them to tip their clean recyclable waste 

iv.     The facility should only deal with non-hazardous recyclable waste, unless specified otherwise by the local government bodies.

v.     There might be instances where the mixed garbage is being provided to the waste collector by the residential society. In such cases the collector of waste must insure that the waste is either segregated at a MRF facility operated by him or a second party. If the facility of operated by a second party, the collector must abide by the payment terms of the operator of such facilities.  If it is found that the mix waste contains organics or inert waste the collector must pay a fixed fee to the operator of such facilities. If the collector is operating his or her own facility he must insure that waste is segregated properly, the inert waste is dumped in the authorized landfill/dump site, for which the operator must pay a tipping fee to the government. The operator can also outsource the disposal of all such waste to an authorized third-party vendor to whom the operator must pay a fee for tipping such waste based on a per kilogram basis. The collector intern would pay the local government body a fee for tipping all such waste in the landfill/dumpsite. 

d.    Treatment: recyclables must be treated according to their characteristics, and the organic waste must be converted into compost within the housing societies if the area is above 5000sqm. if for whatever reason the housing society is unable to treat their organic waste, all such waste must be transported and tipped at the closest composting/waste to energy/bio metheneisation facility for which the collector/transported must pay a tipping fee to the operator of such facilities. The government must subsidize and provide state GST concessions to all such units small or large to promote private investment and competition in this field, specially in the case of treating organic waste and sale of recyclables. 

5.    Duties of waste generator – (1) Every Waste Generator Shall: Sub Point (8): all hotels and restaurants shall, within one year from the date of notification of these rules and in partnership with local bodies ensure segregation of waste at source as prescribed in these rules, facilitate collection of segregated waste in separate streams, handover recyclable materials to either the authorizes waste pickers or the authorized recyclers. The bio degradable waste shall be processed, treated and disposed off through composting or bio methanation within the premises as far as possible. The residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local body.

a.     Current methods of handling waste: Hotels, Restaurants, Commercial Mall & office Buildings: Commercial Malls generate various types of waste, ranging from wet organic waste, horticulture waste, recyclable waste, e-waste, sludge, construction debris, and other hazardous waste such as oil from generators etc. Majority of the Mall in India sell or tender their waste management so lutions out to the highest bidding vendor. These are fixed rate contracts that where the vendor pays a fixed sum to the mall management on a monthly basis to collect their waste. The vendor has to collect, organic, recyclable, hazardous, construction debris, horticulture waste. Mall management are not concerned about what happens to this waste, as their main concern is that they receive the highest value for their scarp waste. Again, reasons for this have been elaborated above. As per the hazardous waste such as oil is concerned, this is sold off too in a dubious manner, using a third-party vendor to provide fraudulent certificates of collection and then proper disposal. Within the malls large retail outlets dispose of their waste, but have their recyclables segregated and then sell these off separately to local scrap dealers for cash. Again, little or no thought is given to how the waste is handled. It is also surprising to know that large multinational organizations providing facility management services to malls are also engaging in these malpractices, whereby they charge the mall for services and then tender out certain services that they do not do, specifically waste management services. Large commercial office building also follows the same practices, where by the facility management company is responsible for waste management services. 

Policy intervention and Implementation required:

There is clear direction been given in MSW rules 2016 in regards with waste segregation, and then handing over the waste to authorized waste collectors or authorized waste recyclers, yet there is no clarity at the municipal and authority level for granting such permissions to private organizations or individuals. State government and the pollution control board should bring about amendment in their policies to allow for collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of MSW from commercial establishments such as malls, restaurants, hotels and office buildings. The criteria for granting permission to private companies and or individuals has already been detailed in this document.            

6.    Duties of the secretary – in – charge, urban development in the sates and union territories: 

a.    Sub Point (b): while preparing state policies and strategies on solid waste management, lay emphasis on waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and optimum utilization of various components of solid waste to ensure minimization of waste going to the landfill and minimize impact of solid waste on human health and the environment.

i.     MSW rules 2016 clearly states that the emphasis should be laid on reduction of waste through reuse, recycling and recovery. Private companies and the unorganized sector consisting of rag pickers and local scrap dealers are a vital part of this equation, but do not have any legal recognition for doing this work from the government. Policy intervention is required to encourage investment in MRF and new methods of recycling and this can only happen the legal frame work encourages competition in this field. As of now there is no clarity at the municipal and authority level and tendering of entire cities is the preferred method when it comes to managing municipal solid waste. Permissions must be given to private companies, individuals to collect, transport, recover, store and recycle all such waste. The criteria for engaging in such activates have been shared in this document already. 

7.    duties and responsibilities of local authorities and village panchayats of census towns and urban agglomerations: 

a.    Sub Point (b) (c) (d) & (h) The following document and the suggestions made in it will help local bodies meet the requirements mentioned in the sub points mentioned above. From arranging door-door waste collection from households, commercial establishments, malls to setting up material recovery facilities and engaging with the informal sector to make them a part and parcel by bringing them officially into the ambit of organized waste management, will require the mass participation from SME in terms of bringing in investment and new ways of handling waste.

© Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved