In order to ensure that the demand of a commodity X is always buoyed up, the producers are making sure that the length product life cycle is shortened. From the consumer’s point of view, the utility index of X gets soon exhausted. Next, the product finds itself in the trash bin and the consumer in the store. And then we tag ‘consumerism’ as “distorted”. Time for a caveat. A distorted consumerism, courtesy reduced product cycle is not all due to producers. Short lived and frequently changing tastes and preferences ain’t all rubbish.Thus, there are two things that are leading us to the morass are 1. Planned obsolescence where products are designed to be dumped and 2. Perceived obsolescence where consumers are lured and induced by means of advertisements etc. to dump their stuff even when they are working fine to go and shop more.

We live in the world where highly enthusiastic and intensive research and developments are giving birth to new technologies almost everyday. New versions of mobile phones, DVD players, computers, laptops, music systems, televisions and almost any device that one can think of are coming up so frequently, making the preceding versions obsolete in no time. Let alone the new technology, the new models are brought into the market simply because of product differentiations like changing the shape, color and other physical attributes.

Out of all that is dumped, electronic waste is a significant fraction that accumulating by the minute, growing exponentially. Formally, electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) describes loosely discarded, surplus, obsolete, or broken electrical or electronic devices. United States of America dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year out of which there are 30 million computers. 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.

Some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e‐waste are generated worldwide every year, In the EU the volume of e‐waste is expected to increase by 3 to 5 per cent a year. Developing countries are expected to triple their output of e‐waste by 2010 (Source: UNEP, 2006). In India, e-waste is mostly generated in large cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. According to a UN report, not only will India see a 500% increase in e-waste, but China and South Africa will see a 400% increase from 2007 levels over the next ten years, with mobile phones being a significant component, rising seven times higher in China and 18 times higher in India. E-Waste from televisions will be 1.5 to 2 times higher in China and India, and e-waste from discarded refrigerators will double or triple in India (www.treehugger.com). These are starking figures and give good idea as to how extensive the problem is. Following table talks the disposing and recycling situation in America, but is pretty much representative of other developed and emerging economies of the world.

Following are some of the sources of electrical and electronic wastes:
1. PCs, Latops, Mobiles, Telephones, Fax Machines, Copiers, Printers
2. Televisions, VCR/DVD/CD players, Hi-Fi sets, Radios
3. Washing machines, Dryers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners
4. Vacuum cleaners, Coffee Machines, Irons, Toasters
5. Fluorescent tubes, sodium lamps
6. Drills, Electric saws, Sewing Machines, Lawn Mowers
7. Toys, Leisure, Sports and Recreational Equipment

In my subsequent post, I shall discuss other aspects of the problem, viz. health impacts, management status etc.

Alok Raj Gupta
December 03, 2010

I shall soon update on the developments of the plastic menace and mitigation efforts pursued across the globe. Besides, I shall also discuss other contentious issues encompassing the waste problem going beyond plastics.

Keep following.

Alok Raj Gupta
November 29, 2010

P.S.: The next post will be a focus shift from plastics waste to e-waste, an issue of immense concern.

A colossal 7 trillion tonnes of floating garbage in the pacific ocean, which is estimated to be double the size of Texas, is no joke. Plastic making up 90 percent of the floating debris is a grave threat to the aquatic habitat as well as ecology at large.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Eastern Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a gyre of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N and estimated to be twice the size of Texas.[1] The patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches from the coast of California to Japan

Like other areas of concentrated marine debris in the world’s oceans, the Eastern Garbage Patch has formed gradually over time as a result of marine pollution gathered by the action of oceanic currents. Estimates on size range from 700,000 km² to more than 15 million km², (0.41% to 8.1% of the size of the Pacific Ocean), or “twice the size as continental United States”. The area may contain over 100 million tons of debris. It has been estimated that 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources, and 20% from ships at sea. Pollutants range in size from abandoned fishing nets to micro-pellets used in abrasive cleaners. Currents carry debris from the west coast of North America to the gyre in about five years, and debris from the east coast of Asia in a year or less. Many of these long-lasting plastics end up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals, including sea turtles, and the Black-footed Albatross.

[courtesy: http://www.wikipedia.org]

The problem is not so much with the plastics as with the behavior of the people at large. I do not hesitate to mention that we, as consumers, are immensely irresponsible, reckless, callous and excuse seeking mojos. We find it almost impossible to take the blame for the so called plastic-caused-distortions on ourselves. While going through some journals, articles and some relevant facts, I realized that the root cause of the problem is behavioral distortion and therefore the solution lies not in any other measures but behavioral correction. A blanket ban etc., I believe are too superficial solutions to the problem which shall give mere temporary results. If we, as consumers, do not take care of our irresponsible consumption/usage habits, then if not plastics, we’ll find some alternative means to pollute and upset our ecology. By banning plastics and switching over to alternatives like jute and paper bags, we are actually further burdening our environment instead of relieving it. If 10 million aquatic and 1million terrestrial animals die because of plastics suffocation and choking, then plastics are not to be blamed. Blame them who throw away the plastic bags and containers, not anticipating the consequences. Or have we become innately insensitive to the lives of others?

Having expressed my opinion above that banning plastics is just not the solution, I shall still continue to call this initiative ‘GROP’ (Get Rid Of Plastics). I retain the title primarily because it has already become somewhat popular among my folks and that changing the title would mean working again on gaining the popularity quotient. Hereafter, the ‘plastics’ in the blog title shall imply that the menace that are attached to plastics and therefore “Get Rid Of Plastics” would mean getting rid of the practices that distort our ecology and not getting rid of plastics per se.

Over half of the 350 students in Kailash Wasi Namdev Mahadev Harpale School have developed white patches over their bodies. It is not a hereditary disease, but a mark of Pune’s garbage dumped on a hillock close to the residential school. Kailash Wasi is in Phurshungi village, about 14 km from Pune city here’s where Pune city has discovered its dumping ground. Over a staggering 800 tonnes of waste is dumped there every day. This collosal garbage landfill is still poorly managed with little or no energy extraction or recycling arrangements. To add to menace of the people, the waste catches fire every other day, releasing harmful methane. Its not just the students who are victims, almost every village dweller in the region have developed some disease or the other. Incesssant coughing, drinking intoxicated water (the untreated landfill garbage intoxicates groundwater that villagers use for domestic purposes) causes dysentery, jaundice and typhoid.

Deepor Beel, a natural wetland in Assam, faces threat as it gradually turns into a garbage dumping ground by the locals, causing damage to its flora and fauna. Deepor Beel, which is also a bird sanctuary, is a great food source and breeding ground for a variety of migratory birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, micro and macrophytes and terrestrial weeds, is now turning into a threat to the lives of these wonderful members of our ecosystem. Because of the fanatic dumping of waste there, the expanse of the wetland has come down from 40 sq. kilometers to 20 sq. kilometers.

If you are a delhiite, you would have a fair idea how impossible it is to pass through a road where the garbage rooms are located. Garbage rooms are where the localities garbage is collected and can be easily found characterizing almost all of the Delhi colonies. They stink royally. There is no sanitization, no scientific management whatsoever. Garbage rooms are abode to street dogs, flies and infinite micro organisms that would cause I don’t know how many and what sorts of diseases.

The story does not end with the landfill of Phurshungi village in Pune, wetland in Assam or the garbage rooms in Delhi. It is the same story in almost all parts of the country. Local markets, mandis, all along the tracks of the Indian railway, river bed, puddle side, drainage gate- go around the country and you’ll believe it.

Yes, the municipality of all the towns and cities are supposed to look after the sanitation of the region, garbage management etc. However, the starkest reality is that we do not see the result. The deplorable condition of the garbage or landfill management all go in to prove that policies and style of the government and the attitude of the people that are responsible for today’s state of garbage in the country need an overhauling.

There are few things that I feel very strongly about waste/garbage management in India. One, government has its limitation. Having said that, I see waste management sector as a fantabulous avenue that can be well exploited by the private sector. They’ll go that extra mile in procuring the extra profit. But, most amazingly, the positive externality of such profit oriented activity will bring about a significant difference in the way we look at the garbage/ waste in India today. Two, both, households and firms, need to check the ever increasing rate of waste generation. At this stage, I wish to quote Victor Lebow, the 20th century economist- “Our enormously productive economy … demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption…. we need things consumed, burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate.” If the world continues to follow Lebow, which it did to an extent, the day is not far when we’d have to wade through the puddle of garbage to travel any bit of distance. Strictly speaking, we should stop throwing away the product before the end of its product life. We need to live with the spirit of product recycle/reuse. Short lived fashions and fads, fast changing consumer preferences and tastes are all against this spirit. The 20 minutes long animated documentary called ‘The Story of Stuff ‘ delivers this idea well.

Let us simplify our lives. With due respect to the economist, following Victor Lebow’s philosophy will lead us to further complicate our lives. There is no doubt that a robust, scientifically sound and economically viable Waste Management System is the need of the hour. In my next posts, we shall touch upon other facets of the issue and what are other countries mechanisms to deal with the avalanche of everyday waste.

The ban on plastic bags in Delhi was annunciated on January 07, 2009. According to the TOI article published on June 25, 2009, the Delhi government has assured that it would no longer maintain a lenient stand and that spot fines up to Rs. 1 lac and 5 years imprisonment will be sentenced to those found violating the law. Such a promise sounds stern and headstrong, but as we stand today, I can see some of the biggest stores using plastic bags in the brightest daylight, let alone the plastic bag practice in the local mandis which is huge in number. Cigarrete smoking too was banned in public, but there is no dearth of people who do so being very much in public. Implementation across such a large population is difficult. As for plastic bags, it has gotten so deep into our habit that getting rid of it will take quite some effort.

This pushes me to discuss why Jairam Ramesh is resisting a blanket ban. According to Ramesh, pushing paper bags will lead to more cutting of trees and other organic alternatives will only end up increasing the environmental burden besides of course, the difficulty involved in cutting away such a deep rooted practice. He maintains that plastic is a chemically inert substance, used worldwide for packaging and is not per se hazardous to health and environment. Recycling of plastics, if carried out as per approved guidelines, may not be a hazard. But now that recycling is not efficient and is full of opportunity areas and that the reckless usage is constantly doing the damage, what does Mr. Minister suggest? He suggests that instead of a blanket ban, we should have an efficient waste management system in place. Easier said than done. India’s waste management is extremely poor as compared to countries like Japan and the United States. Nonetheless, this noble idea, if still taken seriously will do wonders in the country.

I however believe that a policy mix of both the stands as mentioned above is required. We surely need a robust waste management system in place. But having said that, it does not mean that plastic bags should enjoy a greater freedom. We would also need to make sure that there is no abundance induced misuse of plastic bags. Reusing the plastic bag, not throwing it just about anywhere and making the recycling norms even more strict are few things that are aspirational. We need to see a day when no plastic bag finds a place in the garbage dump, no plastic bag is thrown into any size water body and no plastic bag clogs the drains.

In my next blog, I shall discuss the debate between the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit and the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, which is gaining momentum by the day. Does the solution of the plastic induced distortion lie in a complete ban or an efficient waste management?

The Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment (ICPE) set up on the recommendation of a Task Force constituted by The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), is a body registered under Society Act on January 27, 1999. It is a nodal agency recognized by the Government of India to handle all issues related to Plastics and Environment in the country. The rationale of their charter is to help sustain an environment friendly image of plastics by highlighting the positive role of plastics in conserving resources and its 100 % recyclability.

The website www.envis-icpe.com has a portal titled ‘Myths and Realities’ (http://www.envis-icpe.com/mythsnrealities.html) where attempts have been made very objectively to defend the villanous image of plastics. Though they might be correct in projecting the environment friendly nature of plastics, but in the endeavour of highlighting the postives of plastics, they seem to have completely ignored the starkest of evidences against it (Please read my other posts on the blog to know more on this.)

If this government body is anunciating the virtues of plastics, then can somebody explain to us why on earth plastic bags are banned by the Govt. of Delhi and Haryana. Or is there a lack of co-rdination between different bodies of the government which brings forth one of the many inefficiencies of the government policies. Besides the grievances that I mention here, I’d also like to acknowledge that I found the ICPE website to be one of the most resourceful portals and an abode of vistas of information.

Here’s the copy of the letter that I wrote to the Director, Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment (ICPE).

alok gupta

to icpe.mumbai, icpe

show details

4:49 pm (0 minutes ago)

// The Director
Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment
Mumbai, India

Dear Sir,

This is to inform you that having gone through your weblink ‘ www.envis-icpe.com‘, especially sections such as Myths and Realities on plastics has left me in a conundrum situation.

I am a graduate in economics from University of Delhi have been closely associated with awareness activities pertataining to sustainable development issues such as environment, social justice etc. by means of working for an ngo as well as running a blog on the menace of plastics.

The latter is my own initiative and is fed by exhaustive study of various resources available on the internet, books, journals etc.
After reading the website, I was left in a state of utter confusion as far as the stand of different parts of the same government is concerned.

On one hand we have a government backed istitution such as the Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment (ICPE) which goes a long way in defending plastic bags etc. and on the other hand other state governments like Delhi have banned plastics in the city.
With due regards, sir, I would appreciate a response from your end explaing the difference in the stands of the government. And if you acknowledge this difference, then can you take the effort of explaining this utter lack of co-rdination in government policies.

Awaiting your response.

Regards.

Alok Raj Gupta
New Delhi

How to avoid:
Check on the bottom of the bottle there is a triangle sign and there will be a number on it. If the number is higher than or equal to 5 => then this bottle is safe to use. Whatever number under 5, will release the chemical. For most bottle water, the number is 1.