Though a byproduct of urbanization, industrialization, and consumerism; the increasing waste generation is posing an existential crisis for humans as well as all the other living beings on the plant. This is because, the huge volume of waste in its various forms such as municipal waste, hazardous waste, waste-water, etc., is polluting everything from water to air to the soil.
According to estimates of the United Nations' agencies, about 11.2 billion tons of solid waste are collected worldwide (UNEP) and about 80 percent of waste-water is flown into natural water sources without treatment (UN-Water). The World Bank has estimated that the amount of municipal solid waste would increase by 70 percent by 2050. In light of the imminent existential crisis, there is an increased emphasis on all-round waste management throughout the world by reducing, recycling, and reusing. The United Nations has also adopted several tangible targets under SDG 12 (Sustainable Development Goal) for waste management by the year 2030.
WMSS 2020 being organized by Indus Exposium on 30th -31st January at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi is aimed at creating knowledge and ambiance for waste management from a holistic perspective. The series will have four dedicated summits namely – Global Summit on Waste to Energy & Biofuels, Global Summit on Waste Management on Recycling, Global Summit on Hazardous Waste Management and Global Summit on Waste Water Treatment and Reuse.
Devdiscourse (Discourse on Development) being a proud media partner of the WMSS 2020 is running a LIVE DISCOURSE to provide you an interactive platform where you can share your techniques, innovations, views, opinions, product details, etc. in the form of write-ups, pictures, and videos; which will be published after required editorial review. Besides, Team Devdiscourse will also update you on news related to WMSS 2020. (You can also email us at info@devdiscourse.com)
"Waste Management in India has the potential to generate valuable products to the tune of USD 25-50 billion per year. We have the potential of producing 20-25 million standard cubic meter (SCM) of biomethane which will have a value of USD 7-8 billion in the international market," said Dr. S. C. Sharma in an exclusive interview to Devdiscourse.
Also Read: Waste Management should be recognized as an Industry in India: Dr. S. C. Sharma, Convenor, WMSS 2020
The biogas being produced by using agriculture waste in India has shown encouraging results and the experts are confident to present it as a complete replacement of petroleum products. A couple of experts working on biogas projects shared their experiences in the Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 in New Delhi organized on 30th and 31st January.
Burning of agricultural waste has become a challenge and is a major cause of pollution in Delhi NCR. The residue being a liability for farmers, it’s hard to convince them to handle it in an environment-friendly way. Punjab Renewable Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. (PRESPL) not only is creating energy from that waste but is also incentivizing farmers, giving them a reason and spreading awareness against crop residue burning.
PRESPL’s COO Colonel Rohit Dev talked about issue on in an exclusive interview to Devdiscourse on sidelines of Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 held in New Delhi, India. “Agricultural waste is a huge challenge … lot of agricultural waste (is) being burned in Punjab, Haryana which affects environment in Delhi NCR,” he said.
Dev also talked about how the problem is not limited to Haryana and Punjab. “This (agricultural waste burning) happens pan-India, while it does not come in the news, our company is working towards it and our company is the largest aggregator of this waste over nine states.” Click here to see the full interview:
In this age of information technology, e-waste management has become a crucial issue. India presently generates about 2 million metric tonnes of e-waste per year which is likely to be more than double by 2025.
We speak to, Dr. Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chairperson, Greenscape Eco Management, who participated as a speaker in the Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 organized in New Delhi on 30th to 31st January, for an exclusive interview. Devdiscourse was a media partner in the summit. Click to see the full interview:
The joint-venture refinery with Numaligarh Refinery Limited is going on expected lines, Fortum India's Sanjay Aggarwal said in an interview with Devdiscourse. See the full interview:
Also Read: In the process of creating supply chain for Assam refinery: Fortum India's Sanjay Aggarwal
India is presently producing about 62 million tonnes of municipal waste per day which is likely to double by 2030 but most of the waste is going into landfills and adding into carbon emission. Besides providing better and cheaper cooking fuel in comparison to LPG, biogas plants will create a huge number of jobs for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled populations said Mr. Kevin Houston who is Co-Founder of Carbon Masters India. Click to see the full interview:
Also Read: Besides superior to LPG, biogas has huge job opportunities: Kevin Houston
In today’s scenario, the major roadblock is the successful implementation of the EBP (Ethanol Blending Programme). Still, the government is trying very hard on it. If DBT-ICT technology is clubbed with the sugar mill model, it can give very fruitful results and EBP can be achieved very easily. This including many other things have been shared by S. R. Soni, Head, Technology Development of India Glycols in an exclusive conversation with Devdiscourse (the media partner) on the sidelines of ‘Waste Management Series of Summits' 2020 organized in New Delhi on January 30-31.
Also Read: DBT-ICT can use any crop residue to make ethanol at competitive price: S. R. Soni
Paddy residue which has become a liability for farmers and a major cause of air pollution in Delhi due to stubble burning; will become wealth for farmers by the year 2025. Besides, the useless paddy is also going to save millions of dollars India being spending on importing petrol and diesel.
Also Read: Fortum India to make valuable products from agro-waste, Delhi to get Clean Air: Faizur Rehman
Dr. Kirit Parikh is an internationally acclaimed economist and development professional. He had served on several prestigious positions related to academic leadership and policy formulation; and worked with five former Prime Ministers of India.
Eminent economist Dr. Kirit Parikh has strongly advocated for imposing a tax on manufacturing industries, distributing and packaging companies for the management of the waste they are generating. He also cautioned on alarmingly increasing quantity of waste due to urbanization and highlighted the need for management of all kinds of hazardous waste including plastic waste, electronic waste, agriculture waste, waste-water, etc.
Also Read: Tax industries and packaging companies for waste management: Dr. Kirit Parikh
Manish Khandelwal also talked about how Indore became the cleanest city of India and "removed 100 percent human intervention in waste segregation and installed automatic robotic segregation machines".
Also Read: WMSS 2020: Manish Khandelwal talks about importance of plastic waste management