New Delhi: While outdoor burning of biomass is prohibited in the city when pollution hits a certain level, waste-to-energy plants carry on incinerating garbage even during this period. This is being seen as an anomaly by civil society and environmentalists. Over a hundred of them now want not only a restriction on the capacity of WTEs but also to bring their operation under the Graded Response Action Plan that deals with pollution spikes.
Pointing out that the residents of Delhi lose 12 years of life expectancy to air pollution, a letter sent by the conglomerate says, “Though Delhi’s air pollution stems from various sources, the contribution from burning about 7,250 tonnes of unsegregated municipal solid waste daily in the city’s four waste-to-energy incinerators is often overlooked, despite pollution in Delhi reaching a life-threatening level.” It said that by 2027, Delhi would be burning 13,300 tonnes of garbage every day.
“We will send the letter to Delhi chief minister, CAQM’s GRAP Committee, the Union environment minister and the Prime Minister’s Office,” said campaign spearhead Chythenyen DK of the Centre for Financial Accountability.
The letter also referred to a report from CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute submitted to the National Green Tribunal in July, which stated that the incineration of mixed garbage, as is mostly done in India, leads to toxic emissions like furans and dioxins.
With GRAP Stage 2 restrictions implemented from Oct 21 after the AQI reached ‘very poor’ levels, pollution control measures are mandatory, including suppressing of dust by sprinkling water, ban on all firecrackers, increased parking charges to discourage private car usage and increasing the frequency of buses and Delhi Metro services. However, WTE plants continue to operate without restrictions.
The letter also calls for a halt to the expansion of WTE plants and suspension of their operation when AQI reaches 201 (‘poor’ air), a comprehensive study on the impact of WTEs on Delhi’s air quality and human health, a focus on systemic transformations in waste management, including effective implementation of local bylaws on solid waste management with priority on waste minimisation, source segregation, penalties for non-compliance and restricting the manufacturing and usage of single-use plastic.
Earlier this week, TOI had pointed out that CAQM was overlooking the impact on air quality of the city’s four WTEs at Okhla, Narela, Tehkhand and Ghazipur. These power generation plants lack a separate, distinct, or clear-cut guidelines under GRAP.
“Incineration of mixed waste produces toxic particles, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulphur dioxide due to inefficient burning, which can cause respiratory ailments and chronic lung diseases,” said Swati Singh Sambyal, an independent resource management expert. “GRAP must urgently include WTE plants to ensure residents of areas affected by such plants the right to breathe.”
Experts wondered why the WTEs have been ignored in the anti-pollution strategy. “Despite being akin to the ‘red category’ industry due to toxic emissions like SOx, NOx, dioxins, furans and hazardous ash, WTEs continue to operate,” said environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari. “In fact, there are plans to expand incineration capacity to over 6,000 tonnes per day by 2027. Other pollution sources are restricted, not these. Why?”
This article was originally published in Times Of India and can be read here.
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