365 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic collected, says East Delhi civic body

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) said it has collected 364.8 metric tonne of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic such as tobacco sachets and chips wrappers, which can’t be recycled, as part of a targeted collection drive in the last nine months.

The initiative was launched as a pilot scheme in November last year in collaboration with a non-government organisation Indian Pollution Control Association (IPCA) in order to ensure “scientific management and disposal of plastic waste”.

“The step has been taken to deal with increasing pollution due to littering of plastic on roadsides or landfill. Under the project, we are emphasising on collection of multi-layered plastic such as tobacco and chips wrappers, which can’t be recycled,” said a senior EDMC official.

To achieve results, IPCA has trained 400 waste collectors, who segregate the non-recyclable multi-layered plastic from garbage collected from neighbourhoods and landfill, every day.

“The collected waste is utilised as alternate fuel at Ghazipur waste to energy plant to generate electricity. The project will have no financial implication on EDMC as the entire cost is being borne by the multinational brand owners and the processor, who are supporting the project,” a senior EDMC official said.

“Many times, waste collectors or scrap dealers decide to burn heaps of non-recyclable plastic just to get rid of it. The practice leads to serious pollution. The project has provided an opportunity to waste collectors to earn more by collecting and segregating multi -layered plastic waste,” said EDMC commissioner Ranbir Singh.

The agency is planning to implement the concept in its entire jurisdiction soon.

The project was launched as per the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 which stresses upon fixing the responsibilities of producers and generators, to collect back the plastic waste from neighbourhoods and municipal areas under the extended producers’ responsibility (EPR).

They have to implement the concept either on their own or with the support of urban local bodies and waste management agencies.

However, even after two years the concept has not been implemented in a majority of the city, an expert said.

“There is no fixed target for the amount of plastic waste collected by authorities or producers in a city every year. In the given circumstances, it will be difficult to comment if the civic authorities or producers are doing a good job. Ideally, each municipality should do a study for the amount of plastic waste generated by them every year,” said Ravi Agarwal, founder-director of Toxics Link, an environmental NGO.

First Published: Aug 22, 2018 03:13 IST