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What is the issue?
- India has growing menace of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in Indian cities.
- A proactive effort from municipalities and citizens towards recycling of C&D waste will go a long way in curbing pollution.
What are the harmful effects of C&D wastes?
- The C&D waste include bricks, concrete, stones, hard-core subsoil, topsoil, timber, glass, gypsum, ceramics and also plastics.
- C&D waste increases particulate matter in the air and leads to air pollution, and when compared with municipal solid waste it causes more traffic congestion and also pollution from dust.
- When water gets trapped in the C&D debris it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and no amount of spraying can reach the hidden pockets of water.
- Dumping C&D waste in lakes for encroachment, a common practice in large cities, also results in loss of wetlands which are necessary for water purification.
What are the concerns with C&D waste regulation in India?
- In India construction of roads, bridges, flyovers, factories, commercial complexes are happening at a rapid phase.
- There is no sufficient heed to the construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated during construction.
- C&D Waste Management Rules were notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in March 2016.
- But this rules are yet to be implemented due to the lack of co-ordination between municipal corporations, municipalities and other urban local bodies.
What measures are needed to address the issues?
- Awareness - Waste generators must be made aware of the nature of the hazard posed by C&D waste.
- Citizens must also be made aware of the harmful effects of C&D waste which makes the cities vulnerable to floods.
- Deconstruction - Manual demolition by hammer and pickaxe enables recovery and reuse of building materials.
- By contrast, mechanised demolition through wrecking balls generates more C&D waste, and makes the waste management much more difficult.
- Thus deconstruction of buildings enables a much larger recovery of unmixed materials for reuse than mechanical demolition.
- Community Cooperation - A proactive effort on the part of the municipalities with community co-operation is called for to keep C&D waste off the roads, pavements and vacant sites and encourage its transport to recycling units.
- Responsibility of Owners - Vacant site owners are often untraceable in the records, and owners, titles and boundaries are typically unclear.
- Debris dumping is often accepted, if not welcomed, by owners to prevent encroachment.
- Municipalities must also remove unauthorised dumpsites on vacant land public or private while recovering the cost of transporting the waste to the recycling plants through a penalty from the owner.
- Integrated Mechanism - Backward and forward linkages need to be forged with all recycling plants so that C&D waste reaches the recycling plants and there is an effective demand for the output from these plants.
- Government construction works can set an example by using the recycled products as prescribed in C&D Waste Management Rules (2016).
- Regulatory Policy - It is important to set standards and have quality certification for the recycled materials.
- Such measure will encourage more builders to use C&D waste materials and contribute to the cause of sustainable urban development.
Source: Indian Express
