Hyderabad: In the UK alone, with a population of less than seven crore, it is estimated that 66,000 tons of garbage would accumulate if one person wears and disposes of a mask every day for a year. This shows the extent of the challenge posed by the COVID pandemic.
The National Green Tribunal recently declared that the biomedical waste in the country is more than 700 metric tonnes per day due to COVID-19 and directed the states to take suitable action immediately. The Telangana Pollution Control Board requested the Police Department not to obstruct vehicles carrying COVID wastes. It further cautioned that if this waste is not disposed of within 48 hours, there is every danger of the virus spreading through the air.
Despite assurances that appropriate arrangements have been made for the incineration of waste, the ground realities are frightening. Of the more than 84,000 hospitals nationwide, only less than 200 have their own waste disposal plants. In addition to hospitals, several patients are being treated at homes in isolation.
According to field reports, the masks, gloves, syringes, etc. used by them are being mixed up with the general domestic rubbish in the absence of separate arrangements for their collection and disposal.
If vaccines become available and corona control becomes possible, the incidence of COVID waste might naturally decrease. However, that does not solve the real problem. The country accumulates 62 million tonnes of garbage annually, of which 45 million tonnes are dumped untreated. The Central and State Governments should take effective steps to combat the threat of these deadly wastes.
Read: Aug 10 is celebrated as World Lion Day
Innumerable aquatic creatures dying due to plastic waste in water resources, several animals and cattle dying with agonizing suffering by eating the plastic bags thrown on the streets, and heavy deposits of useless wastes at all places, resulting in heavy floods, are the various ill effects of indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste in the country.
By imposing bans on the usage of plastic wastes and recycling them, Australia, Thailand, Sweden, and Ireland are making good progress in controlling waste. By recycling and re-using a third of its plastic products, Japan is setting a new trend in fighting the menace. By melting plastic waste, and converting it as raw material for the manufacture of face masks, Uganda has turned the COVID challenge into an earning opportunity.
Countries like Scotland have developed a new technology of building strong roads with the wastes. By recycling 98 per cent of its construction waste, Singapore is surprising the world.
Read: EIA 2020 draft's objective is 'loot of the nation', must be withdrawn: Rahul Gandhi
The Petroleum Corporation of India has developed the technology of making petrol and diesel from plastic. The Telangana government recently issued guidelines for making fertilisers for villages with urban waste. A special department for energy generation from waste will be launched in Bhagyanagar later this month.
Governments should introduce civic-conscious strategies to conserve water and air, with special emphasis on renewable resources. The education system must be cleansed with research-oriented syllabus to awaken social consciousness in the young generation of tomorrow. Such innovative and multi-faceted activities can rid the nation of all types of wastes including plastic.
