Issue of waste should be addressed at source, not end-point: V V Bhat

Mangalore, December 10: The problem of proper waste management should be addressed at its source, and not at its consumer-end, said Secretary to Government of India and member of Finance of Atomic Energy Commission V V Bhat.

Delivering the keynote address after inaugurating the two-day national seminar on 'Waste Management and Alternate Energy Sources' organised by the Department of Zoology, St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore, at Eric Mathais Hall on Monday, he said that the issue of waste was being addressed at the end point, while solutions and suggestions ought to be used to control it at the source.

The philosophy of 'use and throw' has to be minimised. Minimising packaging of goods at the source and not allowing non-degradable materials for packaging. Plastics used in unnecessary and fancy packaging materials are non-degradable and cause an additional load on the waste disposal system. Companies should not manufacture plastics that are not easily degradable, he said.

He said that lack of uniformity in classification of waste materials added to the problem of effective waste management. “Is segregation of waste into dry and wet the right kind of criteria for classification of waste? People have to think and come up with an effective multi-classification system if we want to manage our waste. Another cause of concern is the inadequate public awareness on the consequences of waste accumulation at various levels," he stressed.

He said that polluters had to pay for the waste they produced, and employ measures to curb it at the source, instead of failing to implement waste and effluent management. This attitude on the part of polluters should not be acceptable, he said.

He also stressed on multiple handling problems in separation of heterogeneous waste materials after their collection.

In his presidential address, principal of the college Fr Swebert D'Silva said that today, we lived in a consumerist society where everything was manufactured to be disposed after use. A major problem of our city is garbage disposal, but all the scientific measures and suggestions are useless unless each individual realises its consequences. Every individual should become partakers in the problem and its solution to make it effective, he said.

Speaking about research in waste management, he said that one of the greatest concerns in education was making the knowledge relevant to the world and society through research, which is of great priority. Relevance of research to the people must be a top priority. Students today lack the criteria of reflection, creativity and research, which ought to be developed in life, in order to make the society a better one and make the nation a better place to live in, he said.

Registrar of the college Dr A Narahari released a book of abstracts on the occasion. Vice Principal Dr Ronald Pinto, Fr Francis D'Almeida, staff co-ordinators of the seminar Prof Precilla D'Silva and Prof Hemachandra were present on the occasion.