India needs to move towards Circular Economy to promote effective Waste Management 

By : PARTHA ROY

New Delhi & Kolkata : The 8th edition of International Conference on “Waste to Worth” was organized by Confederation of Indian Industry  (CII) in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), Government of India, on 30 November 2023 in New Delhi. 

“It is imperative that we shift from a linear economy to the circular economy and inculcate a sense of Bhagidaari among industry and other stakeholders for laying down a foundation for circular economy” said Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India; 

Shri Puri further emphasized the need for understanding and exchange of best practices in various dimensions of waste management. He called for effective cooperation and collaboration amongst industry, technology partners, waste management companies and international partners. 

“Circular economy is no more an option for any nation, but a necessity for every nation and the National Circular Economy Framework (NCEF) is a right step in this direction” said Shri Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India

Shri Chaubey   lauded the efforts of CII National Task Force on Circular Economy as it envisions a future where national resources are recognized as integral to our national prosperity and emphasizes zero waste within the circular economy.

“Today, as India culminates it G20 Presidency, Lifestyle for Environment is now one of the key themes for the future” said Professor Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

The National Circular Economy Framework (NCEF) was unveiled by Prof Ajay K Sood, along with the dignitaries. NCEF serves as a concise roadmap for India’s transition to a circular economy, emphasizing collaboration, awareness, and targeted actions for a sustainable and prosperous future.

Prof. Sood said that this is an opportune moment for India to embrace a circular economy approach and transforming challenges into opportunities for sustainable waste management. Recycling Plastic waste, electronic waste, and faecal sludge are potential opportunity areas. India should review its waste management challenges, not merely as problems but as opportunities, as it will open the door to transformative advancements in the sector. He further stressed reclaiming value from waste which can be achieved through innovative solutions and data driven analytics.

Ms Roopa Mishra, Joint Secretary- SBM, Housing & Urban Affairs Ministry stated that India has seen massive changes in the recent time in terms of waste management, material recovery, waste characterization, waste to energy, and aggregated waste processing technologies. She mentioned  each city will soon have clear segregation of recyclables and non-recyclables. She also envisaged the requirement of having electricity generation from waste and she identified Mountains of garbage as mountains of Resources which can be efficiently utilized for achieving circularity in the economy.

Prof Anil K Gupta, Chair, CII 3R Awards 2023, stated India need to transition from 3R to 4R with repair/rejuvenation as the 4th R. Repair is the skill that India has engrained in its roots and should be leveraged to harness value out of things. Every city needs to have a Waste Exchange system which will help ensure repair / rejuvenate in addition to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Mr Masood Mallick, Chair, CII Task Force on Waste to Worth 2023 and CEO, Re Sustainability mentioned that waste is no longer just an environmental issue but has significant economic, resource security and strategic impact… …Circularity must be one of the core strategies for building a sustainable, inclusive and resilient Bharat.

Mr Hrishit Shroff, Co-chair, CII Task Force on Waste to Worth 2023  outlined the need for consistency in waste to worth management. He referred to NCEF as being a thought leadership document which will help stakeholders in accelerating the journey to a circular economy.

 The compendium on “Moving towards a Circular Economy through innovative 3R approach” was released.

The Conference also felicitated the winners of the 4th edition of 3R (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) Awards to recognize and reward best practices of industry, start-ups, research institutes and municipal corporations for excellence in waste management.

(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)