Emerging Trends Instrumentaion and Controls
Published on : Sunday 01-12-2019
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. This is the best time to think out of the box, and convert adversities into opportunities. Create wealth out of waste, for example.
Consider the facts. Just a few days ago, in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India every day, 40 per cent of which remains uncollected and littered in the environment. The fact that 60 per cent of the waste is recycled, indicates with some enterprise and effort, it is possible to collect over 90 per cent of plastic waste. There are 4,773 registered plastic manufacturing/multi-layer plastic manufacturing/recycling units in the country. The recycled plastic is used in manufacturing of several products. With the phenomenal increase in the use of plastics thanks to its popularity in packaging of food products and FMCG sector, the increase in demand for plastic has indirectly resulted in this huge challenge of plastic waste management. The minister also mentioned that an expert group has been constituted by Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) with respect to research and development for compostable or biodegradable technology on plastic. This is something that needs work on war footing.
This is the right time to looking beyond the existing linear economy of use and throw and adopt the circular economy model based on the three principles of Design out waste and pollution, Keep products and materials in use and Regenerate natural systems. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched in the UK in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, transitioning to a circular economy does not only amount to adjustments aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the linear economy. Rather, it represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal benefits.
It is not just about plastic waste mainly from the packaging use. As the use of automobiles is growing in the country, soon there will be the problem of disposing of the old vehicles in environment friendly manner with the shift to BS IV in April 2020 leads to the phase out of a large number of vehicles. According to another report, by 2025 India will have 22 million obsolete vehicles and no policy as of now for dealing with scrappage of this magnitude. This is going to create a mountain of discarded engine parts, drive transmission and steering parts, body and chassis, equipment and electrical parts. Another window of opportunity. Time to think out of the box. Time to generate wealth out of waste.
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