NITI Aayog – UNDP Launch Handbook on Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste for Urban Local BodiesLB’s
NITI Aayog and UNDP
India launched a handbook to promote Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste in
the country.
The report, titled ‘NITI Aayog-UNDP Handbook on Sustainable Urban
Plastic Waste Management’, was released on 11th October, 2021 by NITI Aayog
Vice Chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta,
Secretary Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Special Secretary
Dr K Rajeswara Rao, and Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India.
The report has been
jointly developed by UNDP India and NITI Aayog, in consultation with eminent
experts and leading organizations in the domain of Plastic Waste. The
discussion for the Handbook was initiated in February 2021. This was followed
by over 20 virtual stakeholder consultations, including Urban Local Bodies,
Recyclers, Corporates, Civil Society Organizations, Academia managed by UNDP.
The format included
expert interviews, focussed group discussions, and technical workshops covering
14 Indian cities and 4 South East Asian cities. The Handbook presents best
practices and examples from cities in India and South East Asia which face
similar infrastructure and plastic waste challenges.
Dr Rajiv Kumar,
Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog emphasized, “Generating mass awareness is the key
for achieving sustainable plastic waste management in the cities. He further
added “The Indore model of spreading mass awareness and explaining importance
of waste management at household level needs to be adopted by other cities. It
will be the key to make plastic waste management a people’s movement.” He
further added that innovations which will eliminate the drudgery of rag picking
and provide a better quality life for these workers should be encouraged. This
will make waste recycling more efficient.”
Amitabh Kant, CEO,
NITI Aayog emphasized, “The Urban Local Bodies across the country face tremendous
pressure to provide efficient Waste Management Services in the midst of an
unprecedented scale of urbanisation that India is witnessing. The country has
leapfrogged in sanitation sector, and similarly we need to create a massive Jan
Andolan around Plastic Waste Management to achieve complete recycling of our
waste.”
He further added
that “The handbook covers crucial components for Sustainable Urban Plastic
Waste Management including, technical models, recovery facilities, IEC, digitisation,
and good governance.”
Dr Rajeswara Rao,
Special Secretary, NITI Aayog, said “NITI Aayog has constituted 11 committees
for bringing circular economy in various areas of waste management. With
complete recycling of plastic waste followed by extraction of valuables and mixing
it with virgin materials, the transition to a circular economy in Plastic Waste
sector will be completed.” He further added, “Social inclusion of informal
workers is crucial for Sustainable Plastic Waste Management. Promoting
entrepreneurial opportunities and development of Waste Pickers cooperatives are
important initiatives for formalisation of informal workers in the Waste
Management sector.”
RP Gupta,
Secretary, MoEFCC highlighted “Only about 9% of the total plastic produced
globally gets recycled, about 12% is incinerated and energy is recovered, and
rest about 79% gets into land, water, and ocean and pollutes the
environment.” He further added “Phasing out Single Use Plastics is
crucial and to the extent possible, plastic items for which alternatives are
available needs to be abandoned. The handbook on Sustainable Urban Plastic
Waste Management will play a major role in fulfilling the goal of reducing the
use of plastic and increasing Plastic Waste recycling, and also ensuring that Plastic
Waste is brought to minimal”
“The Plastic Waste
Management programme at UNDP promotes the collection, segregation and recycling
of all types of Plastic Waste to protect our environment and create a Circular
Economy for plastics. The programme also ensures the wellbeing and financial
inclusion of waste pickers, one of the most critical stakeholders in the Waste
Value Chain,” shared Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India.
She added, “The
programme is aligned with the principles of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0. We are
happy to share our learnings in this Handbook and provide urban local bodies
with replicable models. UNDP is committed and proud to partner with the
Government of India, NITI Aayog, state governments and other development
partners for this great initiative to ensure sustainable plastic waste
management.
”Sustainable
Urban Plastic Waste Management: Summary
Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are mandated under the Municipal Solid Waste
Management Rules, 2016, and the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, to manage
Municipal Solid Waste and Plastic Waste at the city level. The handbook is a
repository of 18 case studies/ best practices from India, including 4 from South
Asian countries divided into four major components, including:
a) Technical models
for recycling
b)
Material Recovery Facilities (MRF),
c)
Governance for effective plastic waste management, and
d)
IEC and Digitization.
The book covers every aspect of the entire Plastic Waste Management
Service Chain and will enable Urban Local Bodies and other stakeholders
involved in the sector to learn from the successful business and service models
covered under this handbook to plan for efficient plastic waste management in
their cities according to their requirements and guidelines.
Speaking to Radiance Media after the launch of the report, Srikrishna
Balachandran, Programme Manager, Plastic Waste Management, UNDP pointed the
need on reduction of Plastic Usage as well more eco-friendly and sustainable options.
He added that focus on rural areas and better packaging material was very
important.
Component I: Technical model for Plastic Waste Recycling and
Management
This component based on an integrated and inclusive approach by
involving different stakeholders and their social benefits covers:
a) Development of a baseline system of Plastic Waste Management at the
city level
b) Systems approach for promoting recycling of plastic waste at the city
level
c) Stakeholder identification and partnerships
d) Development of regulatory need-gap analysis and proposals for the
holistic management of Plastic Waste
Component II: Material Recovery Facility – For improved Plastic Waste
Management implementation
This component explains the complete functioning of a material recovery
facility (MRF), beginning from site identification, Construction and Waste
Processing Mechanisms at the MRF.
Component III: Institutionalization of MRFs in governance bodies
The mainstreaming of Waste Pickers in the Plastic Waste Management
System would result in improved socio-economic conditions for Waste Pickers and
increased recognition in society. This requires the institutionalization of
various recommended models and Waste Pickers by ULBs for long-term
sustainability. Some of the major activities are linking services of the Waste
Pickers with MRFs, capacity building, making them financially literate and
opening bank accounts for them, linking them to various social protection
schemes, providing Occupational ID cards, health benefits and personal
protective equipment while working, providing facilities like creches or play
areas and other basic child education facilities, and creating self-help
groups.
Component IV: IEC and Digitalization
This component includes the development of Knowledge Management
Mechanisms by establishing an in-built adoptive feedback system from different
stages of Plastic Waste Value Chain. It also involves the identification of
various technology platforms, or Technical Service Providers, linkages with
relevant stakeholders such as Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs), recyclers and Waste
Pickers, and the development of protocols for more effective online reporting,
monitoring and information exchange.
Various models including, development of entrepreneurial opportunities
for Waste Pickers, development of Waste Pickers cooperatives to build their own
non-profit organization, development of a blended workforce combining Waste
Pickers and Non-Waste Pickers etc. are covered under the handbook.
The models detailed in this Handbook aim to bring Sustainable Plastic
Waste Management into practice. The various systems approach detailed out in
the report are aligned with the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and the Plastic Waste
Management Rules, 2016 and 2018. These models ensure compliance with
regulations and improve resource utilization. The models not only focus on
managing Plastic Waste but also on social inclusion and protection for Waste
Pickers by improving their socio-economic conditions.
To implement these models, the role of different stakeholders such as
ULBs, recyclers, service providers, brand owners and waste pickers are detailed
in this Handbook.