A showdown between members of civil society and industry ended up scuttling a discussion on 2015 draft rules of solid waste management scheduled to be held here on Friday.
Though organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), ‘Stakeholder consultation on draft waste management rules – 2015’ was sponsored and co-organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). This rankled numerous non-governmental organisations and activists.
Apart from claiming that activists, who had pursued solid waste issues in the court, had not been invited, Leo Saldanha from the Environment Support Group said, “How can the ministry outsource discussions on solid waste to the CII, which is a lobbying group and industry front.”
He and other activists said their entry was prevented in various measures, while the discussions seemed to cater only to industries. Moreover, numerous people from Mavallipura on the outskirts of the city — where Bengaluru’s waste is being dumped — objected to the proceedings being entirely in English and effectively excluding them from the discussions.
Bishwanath Sinha, Joint Secretary, (MoEFCC), attempted to explain that the discussion was the first in a series of meetings with various stakeholders. “The rules have only been put up on the website so far. After it has been published in the gazette, there is another 560 days for discussions. A nationwide series of discussions with all stakeholders will be held,” he said.
However, with the proceedings being interrupted, officials and CII representatives eventually walked out of the programme before even the formal inauguration. The programme had drawn industrialists from neighbouring countries as well as a few government representatives from the State.
In four parts: biomedical, solid, plastic and e-waste
Solid Waste Management Rules, 2015
Replaces Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000
Makes it mandatory for segregation of source into biodegradable, non-biodegradable and dry waste
Urban local bodies should impose fines for littering, unscientific dumping of waste
Incentives for compost generation, waste recycling
Separate space for processing of solid waste in any complex that exceeds 200 housing or commercial units or area more than 10,000 sq. m
Central monitoring committee to oversee implementation of the rules
Formulation of national, State and urban local body policy and strategy on solid waste management
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2015
Replaces Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011
Prohibits use of non-packaging plastic with thickness less than 50 microns or selling plastic covers free of cost
Encouraging use of plastic waste in road construction, for energy recovery, etc.
Mandatory labelling of plastic covers (for instance, PET – polyethylene terephthalate, HDPE – high-density polyethylene, V – vinyl (PVC), LDPE – low-density polyethylene, among others.)
Retailers selling non-labelled plastic will be fined
E-waste Rules 2015
Replaces E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011
Producer of electronic or electrical equipment must have collection centres for its disposal
Implementing deposit refund scheme, wherein, only on recycling will user get back money
Biomedical Waste Rules 2015
Replaces Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998
Training and yearly health check-up of workers handling biomedical waste
Untreated human or animal waste should be disposed within 48 hours
