Stop cities from choking on garbage
The recent disaster in Delhi must spur agencies to manage solid waste effectively
One of the big problems of massive urban agglomerations such as Delhi and Mumbai is waste management. Solid waste generated in a city the size of Delhi needs to be immediately reduced, reused, and recycled if we want to save our cities from becoming choked with garbage. The collapse in the Ghazipur landfill that led to the death of two people is a warning to all civic agencies.
This 70-acre garbage dump is situated in the middle of a densely-populated part of the city and has been a disaster waiting to happen for a few years now. It is estimated that about 3000 metric tonnes of garbage are dumped at the site everyday; in spite of the fact that it was supposed to shut down in 2002, when it was filled to capacity. The piles of unsegregated garbage lead to the formation of methane gas; that has caught fire in pockets, several times, putting at risk the lives of many of the ragpickers who work there every day. Delhi has learnt no lessons from Mumbai, where in March 2016 a massive fire had broken out in the Deonar landfill that took nearly 10 days to bring under control.
While half-hearted attempts have been made to segregate waste at source and to create waste to energy plants within these landfills, there has been no real change in the way that Delhi deals with the problem of waste management – be it e-waste, biodegradable waste or plastic. As HT has highlighted, 50% of the generated garbage is fit for composting and 30% is recyclable; which means that only 20% should reach the dump. Building new landfills is not the solution. Apart from the fact that they are dangerous cause leaching of hazardous chemicals into the soil, it would be unfair to citizens of that neighbourhood to export the city’s garbage to their locality. What is needed is dedication and discipline from both the civic agencies and the citizens to effectively implement segregation of waste at source to reduce the amount of garbage that reaches landfills.