OUR INSIGHTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION POTENTIAL ACROSS THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT VALUE CHAIN
Waste management is one of the key services every city government provides, and climate change can impact waste facilities both directly and indirectly. At the same time, improper waste management - e.g. waste blocking drainage exacerbating flooding during rainfall events can reduce the ability of a city to cope with extreme climate events. All new and existing waste management systems therefore need to be designed to be resilient to climate change. Rising levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are causing changes in our climate, and some of these changes can be traced to solid waste.
The relationship between waste management and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions is well established. GHGs can be avoided by following the principles of integrated solid waste management and improving existing waste management practices. However, the climate change aspects and intangible benefits of scientific waste management are yet to be clearly spelt.
Hence to accommodate this, WES has taken an effort to summarise the opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation actions across the SWM value change. To start with generation aspects, it would be pertinent to state that an increase in waste generation with urbanisation is a well-accepted phenomenon. With increasing economic-ability and liveability, this increase is expected to be more in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Therefore, it is important that cities prioritise certain actions for waste reduction and accordingly plan their future waste management operations and infrastructure requirements. As the feasibility of waste reduction is in the entire life cycle of any product, hence, municipal and citizen-centric approaches adopted for waste “reduction” at source, matter the most. Municipal authorities are encouraged to evolve, adopt and implement waste reduction actions like to carry one’s own bag, utensil banks, repair shops, buyback systems, with the support of citizen groups, market associations, etc. These actions may be aligned to the National policies and programmes.
‘Reuse and Recycle’ are the next level of waste management hierarchy after ‘Reduction’ and are cumulatively known as the 3R’s. Waste recovery and recycling systems are yet to be 100% formalised in all cities and the informal sector plays an important role in resource recovery and its recycling operations. Recycling and reuse practices lead to less pressure on natural resources and mitigate associated GHG emissions. Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) and facilities for producing Refused Derived Fuel/Segregated Combustible Fractions help by promoting resource recovery and resource efficiency in cities and address the city’s GHGs mitigation requirements. ‘Reuse’ is always preferred over recycling, as it has the maximum potential to save virgin material, and hence is important from a GHG avoidance point of view.
The GHG emissions can be further avoided by ‘processing, treatment and disposal’ facilities which are scientifically operated and managed as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Effects of heat waves resulting in dumpsite fires can also be effectively prevented by scientifically operating landfills. There are certain parameters and conditions as guidance for implementation of the SWM rules, provided through the Municipal Solid Waste Management Manual, 2016. The scientific closure and post closure maintenance of engineered landfills and dumpsites avoid significant GHG emissions. Bio-mining of dumped waste and/or making windrows over dumpsites however does not mitigate any GHG emissions. There are well established methods published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other organisations like WRI, ICLEI, C40 to quantify the GHG emission from processing, treatment & disposal facilities.
Adaptation potential in the SWM value chain is somehow understated as compared to mitigation. The ill-effects of excessive rainfall and cyclones on landfills cannot be overstated, common effects being leachate overflow, water contamination and landfill slides. Even old landfills situated on floodplains can be an issue of grave concern. Such facilities need hydraulic protection from any such unforeseen calamities. Similarly, waste collection equipment and transportation fleet must be examined for their resilience under the changing climatic conditions of an area. Adaptation measures need to be practiced locally and the results are more or less immediate as compared to mitigation wherein the results are long term. A road map to assess the adaptive capacity of urban waste management systems and to frame them within the overall city adaptation/ disaster management strategy is required. IEC and awareness generation activities for implementing 3Rs effectively is need of the hour. A capacity building programme focusing on adaptation and mitigation aspects is certainly essential for the municipal functionaries.
Besides aforementioned elements of the SWM value chain, Greenhouse Gases mitigation aspects due to Construction and Demolition Waste Management, its recycling and utilisation is yet to be explored by many cities. The C&D waste utilisation reduces the pressure on the exploitation of natural resources. Cities need to focus on finding greener ways to replace concrete, encouraging the reuse of recycled materials to replace virgin materials. C&D Waste Management Rules and BIS Standard IS 383 encourages 100% utilisation of Recycled Aggregates (RA) and Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA) and this can be achieved through effective State/city level policies and practices.
The waste sector has one of the highest and most visible potentials for reduction of GHG emissions in a city as each unit of methane is 23-time global warming potential that of CO2 equivalent. Considering this, it is a win-win situation for any city whereby a city, by merely following good practices of waste management – can look visibly clean, have a healthy environmental and an improved quality of life for its citizens. Thus, leading to long term climate benefits for the city and the region and also contributing towards the fulfilment of India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals.
We, at WasmanPro, profoundly lookup to the standards and abide to the regulations of the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 on considerable interests.
COVID-19 and Municipal Solid Waste Systems
The COVID-19 health crisis has placed immense stress on municipal solid waste systems worldwide, from dramatically changing waste generation patterns, to requiring new collection and recycling protocols to ensure worker safety, particularly for informal waste pickers who saw income disappear with enforced lockdowns. The pandemic has reinforced how critical it is to make municipal systems resilient to the stressors and shocks caused by external events such as a global pandemic or the climate crisis.
Solid waste systems and Zero Waste efforts are resilient when mature markets for secondary resources, reusable products and repair services are ensured, strengthened by risk assessments, adaptation plans, and the inclusion of the informal and private sectors as central components. COVID-19 is impacting waste systems around the globe. In the Global South, in particular, the pandemic is threatening the safety of frontline waste collection and sorting staff and has caused tens of thousands of informal waste collection workers to lose their livelihoods. Globally, outbreaks have changed patterns of waste generation and disrupted international recycling markets.
However, WES always stays ahead in its client-focused approach to combat these impediments and achieve sustainable goals pledging to its mark and practice.