The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has finally realised that there is no place left to dump the city's trash. In an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, the Corporation has detailed that there were three specified trash dumping sites in the metropolis, out of which two are already full and the third one will not last its purpose beyond six months. Though six new such sites have been identified, yet with the present rate of trash production, the situation will soon be out of control and we will not be surprised to see the Corporation lorries carrying the city's waste wandering in search of a place to dump the trash.

    Barges wandering the seas in search of a place to dump trash seems preposterous but that was the saga of the New York garbage barge which sailed some 6,000 miles before unloading the 3200 tonnes of trash it carried, thus becoming a dramatic symbol of the modern life style. That was about a score of years back. Once this problem was merely of the developed countries. Now less advanced countries are also silently coming into the grip of the problem of - what to do with the trash.
 

Where Does The Garbage Go?

    No one likes to think about garbage. We find it simpler to toss waste and debris into the trash can without giving it another thought. Once the sanitation worker removes it from the premises, it is of no further concern to us. The person on the street, if asked, seems blissfully unaware of what happens to the junk after he tosses it away in the backyard everyday. Occasionally we get to see the municipality's garbage lorry, heading towards no one knows where. Out of sight, out of mind. But how long can we simply dump trash in a container and forget about it? Our trash threatens to bury us alive soon.

    Unlike the nuclear waste disposal problem, about which scientists and planners knew in advance, the household garbage dilemma built up slowly and insidiously. We talk about acid rain, polluted water, depletion of the protective ozone layer. But trash disposal has been largely overlooked. Very few people were concerned about the problem till the heaps of polythene bags and other non-biodegradable wastes overshadowed the aesthetic beauty of the cities.

    During the Middle Ages, people simply hurled their garbage out of the windows and doors into the streets, letting that wash down the gutters at the whims of the rain. Today most of our solid waste is disposed of in open dumps, in sanitary landfills or by burning in incinerators.

    The open dump has been with us for centuries. City or town dwellers simply hurl trash down in canyons, pits or valleys. The well-known drawbacks of this method are legion. Such places become breeding grounds for rats, flies and other vermin and stink. They turn eyesores and health hazards. Many of them leak and pollute streams and ground water.

    The sanitary landfill is simply an open dump with a bottom layer of clay. This is the most common way of our municipal bodies for getting rid of the gathered city wastes. After emptying the garbage lorries into the landfills, the trash is covered over by a thin layer of dirt. Though landfills are free from some of the problems associated with open dumps, the leakages into the ground water can not be avoided.

    Incinerators drastically reduce garbage weight by about 70 per cent and up to 90 per cent in volume. They produce heat that can be converted into electricity, thus reducing garbage disposing costs. But after burning, the ash still must be buried. The ash may contain hazardous toxic metals such as lead and mercury, which are far more concentrated than in the original garbage. If the ash is not disposed of properly, it can seep into the ground water. Incinerators also need proper air pollution control equipment like filters to eliminate poisonous dioxides from smoke. Incinerators are presently in use in very limited numbers in our country .
 

No Space For Dump

    All these waste disposal methods need space. With the growing volumes of our domestic waste following the increase in population, the urban planners and environmentalists grappling with managing solid wastes, say it is impossible to continue with the present rates of consumption and waste. Cities are running out of space and the municipal machinery cannot find new places for safe dumping. In metros like Delhi and Mumbai, this problem is becoming critical day-by-day.

    By and large, the root of the trash problem is cultural change which seems superimposed on our traditional society. With the spread of consumerist approach, consumption, and in the same proportion, waste-production has become the way of life. Status and success are measured in terms of consumption of goods and services. We want greater comfort and convenience with the least effort and bother. The development of a throwaway, convenience approach to life largely creates the problem. A real, long-lasting solution will require another cultural change.
 

What Can We Do?

    The solid waste problem can be addressed on a far more personal level than we might imagine. As it stands now, separating the multiple millions of tonnes of solid waste and garbage into clean and reusable segments after they are discarded, is difficult. It needs to be done at source. So, first, each of us can become a recyclist. It just takes a little creative time and effort to clean and separate items into glass, tin, paper and plastic. For each kind of item, we can keep a separate bin. These can be given to rag pickers who pass them on to recycling centres. We can also help create community recycling centres in our areas. For biodegradable organic waste such as vegetable peels and food, we can create our own compost pit in the lawn or even in a pot. The result of composting is a dark, rich material called humus, an excellent soil conditioner and fertiliser.

    But even before going for recycling, why not think of reducing the volume of the junk itself? We can make an audit of the number of non-biodegradable materials that we use in our everyday life, such as plastic bags, containers of consumable goods, disposable cups and glasses, synthetic fibres and ropes, ball point pens and disposable razors. Minimising or altogether avoiding the use of such material can help reduce the quantity of our daily trash in a big way. We can very well use their environment-friendly alternatives like cloth or jute bag instead of plastic bag; reusable glass, metal and ceramic tumblers and cups for disposable ones; natural fibres, coconut ropes; regular ink pen and many more such things.

    Junk old toys need not automatically be dumped along with clothing or furniture. Somebody might use them. Reusable, reparable items can be contributed to charitable groups. Manufacturers also could make a major contribution towards solving the trash problem by using less packaging and packing in reusable containers like glass jars instead of disposable, easily breakable plastic containers and increasing the use of jute or gunny bags in place of their synthetic substitutes.

    The delicate balance of nature in and around our sprawling urban centres as well as towns, blindly imitating the urban lifestyle, is right now being severely upset. We can overcome the junk problem to a great extent if we all individually and collectively mend our ways and reorder our priorities.

* June 5 is World Environment Day