CHENNAI: “An average of 150 to 200 million tonnes of domestic waste is generated from Indian households every year, which is equal to the amount of food produced in the country. Of the total waste generated, fifty percent can be recycled if segregated properly,” said R K Garg, chairman of Garg Commission (Bhopal Tragedy) at an international seminar on “Waste Management”, conducted in the city recently.Stating that metal waste and e-waste were toxic to health, he said the toxic waste should be recycled with proper technology to reduce the effects. “Hazardous industrial waste should be reduced, if not managed by recycling, which will result in health problems and reduce waste of resources”, he said at the seminar organised by Sathyabama University.Meanwhile, Herman Koller, Managing Director of International Solid Waste Association (ISAI), said that five per cent of the green house gases were emitted through ineffective waste management activities. “Academic institutions should set a precedent for the industries and other social bodies to follow,” he said. He later flagged off five buses from Sathyabama University, which will be operated on bio-fuel produced at the University with cooking oil wastes from the University mess. A feasibility report on the bio-diesel production was released by Jeppiaar, founder and chairman of Sathyabama University.The Centre for Waste Management, Sathyabama University also introduced an M Tech course in Green Engineering and Technology from this academic year. Analyses of soil and water quality parameters, meteorological data analysis and methane elimination are a few subjects to be covered in the course.Amiya Kumar Sahu, President of National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI), stated that the syllabus was designed with a view to giving practical training to the students and not just theory. He said, “Waste can be recycled, reduced and redesigned if there is proper education and awareness. This will help the society at large.”Muthiah Mariappan, Chairman of State Level Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, said that creating awareness on waste management was the need of the hour and added that waste management and environmental engineering had developed to become synonymous. “Pollution, health issues and climate change are the major issues that need to be addressed. Waste management has evolved into an important form of green engineering,” he added.Asit Baran Mandal, Director of Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), said that solid waste management had become one of the booming issues in leather industry and that public-private partnership model was required to tackle waste management-related issues.According to G Krishnamoorthy, Professor Emeritus, San Diego State University, USA, the nation requires the participation of young engineers and scientists to stop environmental degradation.Issues including current trends in waste management, e-waste management, solid waste management practices, hospital and municipal waste management were in focus at the one-day International seminar.
Comments
0 comment