DECENTRALIZED MARKET FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT

Group 3 Section A

Market based mechanisms based on price discovery and regulation by policy makers is not a
new idea. Environmental regulations using formal institutions have been costly and ineffective.
Waste management has been one of the toughest challenges faced by the government and
the community world over. In India, the state of Kerala ranks 18th in the country with respect
to waste management. There is no proper waste management system(WMS) in Kozhikode
district to collect waste generated by homes, restaurants, hospitals and restaurants. With a
population of 5,50,000 according to 2011 census, the capacity of waste disposal is inadequate.

The issues faced by the current structure of WMS at Kozhikode range from the high
transaction costs in the supply chain network to unofficial dumping grounds. Also
Mr.Mohanan, Health officer at KMC highlighted that Kerala has no recycling plant and the
nearest plant is located at Coimbatore which is 200 Km away. The primary collection of waste
is done by SHG called Kudumbashrees and the secondary collection is outsourced. But, the
number of Kudumbashrees members have decreased from 710 to 320. There has been public
protest because of health issues due to open dumping. The door-to-door collection introduced
in 75 wards of the Corporation is still irregular.

There are 4 major stakeholders involved in this process of waste management - Private
Stakeholders (Buyers), Government, Community and Institutions (NGOs). According to Manish
Vajipey, CEO, Banyan nation, “Recycling activities in India are driven by the market forces that
are informal, illegal and largely invisible. There are millions of rag pickers today who scavenge
collecting valuable materials.” Value creation from waste is possible by finding innovative ways
of using waste in road construction, alternative biodegradable fuel. There are startups which
are creating profits by recycling plastic or glass. They are reducing their costs by removing
intermediaries and saving money on segregation and are willing to pass on the benefits to
people in the form of money.

Because of accountability and corruption, the Government has failed to implement a model
WMS. Therefore, Government should act as a facilitator or regulator or a partner in a PPP
agreement. It should try to reduce its direct involvement. But, it should proactively work on
enforcement of banning of non-recyclable polyethylene bags, encouraging research and
judicious use of the consolidated fund by levy of Swach Bharat Cess.

Community participation via NGO is the key to sustain a project related to WMS. The most
important role that NGOs can play is by motivating people and bringing them together to build
awareness about waste management in society. They provide employment to the informal
sector waste workers and improve the system, especially of door-to-door collection. By
campaigning about basic social services such as education, health schemes among the waste
workers they encourage equity among all strata’s of the society. Niravu is one such example of
a NGO which is highly active in Kozhikode and works on the philosophy of “Change starts at
home”. They are also involved in conversion of waste into biogas and compost and which is
used for cooking and as fertilizers. But, this can never be achieved unless the community as a
whole decides to come together play its part.

The present system has high monitoring and transaction costs. It is not creating value for any
stakeholder – recycling companies, Government, Community. Lack of decentralized
composting plants at ward level and no segregation at collection stage increase the costs.
There is also no financial support to entrepreneurs who are willing to set up recycling plants.
Without immediate reforms, such system cannot be sustainable in the long run.

It is difficult to establish a model which is beneficial to everyone present in the society when a
society comprises of so many classes and segments of people. One such model that exists in
India is that of Solid Waste Collection and Handling cooperative (SwaCH), Pune. It represents
the biggest success story of how thousands of waste pickers came together and are playing an
important role in door to door collection of waste. Within a year, SWaCH entered into a formal
MoU with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Major reason behind its success is the
transformation it brought for rag pickers, who are treated as service providers. Another key
feature of this model is that it saves the municipality INR 12 crore a year. The major source of
income is the sale of recyclable waste. This depicts an ideal model for social capital where
every section of the society is receiving benefits.
Another example of a successful model is the scheme “Smart Colony – Smart Ward Initiative”
launched by Mormugao Municipal Council (Goa). The Government held introductory meeting
in different communities. Awareness campaigns were held along with distribution of green and
black dustbins to segregate waste at source, which was strictly monitored. This model has
helped in generating additional revenue for the Municipal Corporation. Reduced cases of
dengue and malaria has improved overall health.

Trivandrum was the first city in Kerala which successfully implemented a WMS. Implemented
since 2011, there are around 50 aero bins for the city of Trivandrum. Early segregation of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable has saved a lot of dissegregation cost. After the
implementation, there was a decrease in the cost of collection. Because of the revenues
generated by sale of waste, the corporation is planning to reduce taxes or use those funds for
public. This system has created benefits for people, recycling companies and the Corporation.
This was possible because of collective action of the community, NGO, Government and the
private stakeholders.

It has been seven years, but the success of Trivandrum has not been seen elsewhere in the
state of Kerala. The door to door collection system in Kozhikode has still not matured enough.
With the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, it has become imperative that we support this with
a good WMS in place. So the next time if you see a politician sweeping the streets, remember
to ask them about their waste disposal plans.