Recycling requires a proper policy push

India's research-based policy advocacy group Toxics Link has been working towards a toxics-free world for decades and Satish Sinha as its associate director has been driving much of that policy. His work in the field of municipal, hazardous and medical waste management, food safety and chemicals has propelled the agenda for a cleaner India.Sinha speaks to India Inc. about his perspective on the Indian government's Clean India campaign and the two-pronged strategy of achieving rural sanitation alongside urban waste management.What are your views on the government's Clean India campaign The Clean India campaign launched by Prime Minster Modi on 02 October 2014 is essentially a mission to clean up both rural and urban habitation and provide a better environment to citizens. The mission has two significant components: sanitation and hygiene for rural India and improved waste management for urban settlements.It is a laudable effort on the part of the Prime Minister to launch this campaign at a national level and place this issue of waste management and sanitation on the national and political agenda. It is well meaning and should be viewed beyond politics which enables whole hearted participation of all, cutting across political affiliations.Can the impact of the campaign already be seen The campaign has certainly brought this issue of waste into the national discourse and an outreach that could only be possible through such wide publicity. Many argue the irrelevance of numerous photo opportunities for the celebrities and question what comes next. On the first count, the photo ops are absolutely essential to create much required awareness and sensitivity among masses whose participation in is critical for it to succeed and in some measure this has achieved its purpose.While the details of the Clean India campaign may not be fully understood by all but the larger message of cleaning up streets, roads and neighbourhoods has been well understood by most. This is a big achievement and must be regarded so. But the bigger challenge is ahead and I fear that if we fail to capture this understanding and energy of the people we can lose the campaign and also create fear and apprehension among people that India can never be clean, which is scary.Are the time-scales realistic Many would question the timing for the launch of a national campaign and the preparatory work and consultation that should have preceded. Six months since the launch of the mission and very little seems have been achieved on ground which is largely because the back-end is completely void of any systems, or infrastructure in place.It is a bit difficult to understand the rationale for such detail not being in place for a mission as complex as solid waste management for the country. Countries across the world have worked extremely hard for many years to experiment, develop and evolve systems to manage their waste and provide a clean environment for their citizens.Our previous experiences and successes have also not been well documented to provide the framework and road map to proceed ahead. There is a critical need to put in place systems and necessary expertise in the preparatory work to deal with waste or we will not only lose out on this great opportunity but also create a sense of despondency among citizens.Please highlight Toxics Link's key recommendations on MSW in cities.Creating a complete ecosystem for waste management is critical and detailed MSW plans for each city is the key.Among some of the other recommendations include creating capacity among important players, identifying appropriate technology suited to local conditions, creating awareness to encourage people participation, involvement of waste pickers in door to door collection and enforcing segregation of waste at the point of generation.The use of technology for effective monitoring and compliance must go hand in hand with promoting recycling of waste and marketing of recycled products. Finally, holding service providers accountable is essential.What are the key challenges in the way of formulating a sustainable MSW policy for India For too long the country has engaged with issues of MSW at best as a linear issue of collection and transportation. It has perhaps not been understood as a serious environmental and health issue and its links with sustainable development..The policy formulators should tackle this issue with the respect it deserves and address the complexities that are associated with it. Final disposal has only become an issue in the recent past on account of the inadequacy of space and protests on account of its impact on environment and health of citizens..How can some of these challenges be met It is important to create the right mechanisms to deal with the post-consumption life of the materials. While reuse and recycling have been traditional practices in India and a lot is spoken about it but there is little attention to this in our policies and regulations. They have been largely outside of policy frameworks hence devoid of innovation, persistence in quality and recognition of their value.Sustainable development requires effective resource utilisation and reducing the pressure on natural resources by recycling and bringing them back into the material chain. Recycling of waste requires to be promoted and its benefits have to be explained to citizens.Lack of credible data and knowledge on the subject is also a challenge in getting the right ingredients into policy..Successful models and best practices must be documented and encouraged to be replicated.What more can be done to create awareness around these issues Awareness building has to be continuous effort. Process details must be disseminated to the population to build confidence and hope .. Reaching out to younger generation will be critical in changing their attitude towards waste and cleanliness.

The above article was published in India Inc's print edition of the India Investment Journal launched in June 2015 in conjunction with the Policy India Roundtable 2015.