15. Waste segregation at source is cheaper, effective: expert

Cost of transporting mixed garbage is high and segregating it at source could reduce cost by 30 per cent, says former KSPCB chairman H.C. Sharat Chandra There is a viewpoint that there is no need to segregate waste at source into wet and dry as technology can manage mixed garbage but the method is expensive, said H.C. Sharat Chandra, former chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
He was speaking at CanPlast2013, a seminar on solid waste management and plastic recycling organised by Canara Plastic Manufacturers Association in the city on Monday. He said the cost of transporting mixed garbage was high and segregating it at source could reduce cost by 30 per cent, which mattered as the money came from taxpayers.
Also, management of waste was easier if it was segregated than when mixed. “The big problem is there is no segregation,” he said. T. Raghavendra Rao, Chairman and CEO, Sustainable Technologies & Environmental Projects Ltd., Mumbai, speaking to reporters, said polycracker technology processed mixed garbage and created liquid fuel. However, it required very high investments, and there were some gases generated as byproducts, which the system dealt with, he said. Ajith Hegde said one could not do away with plastics nor should we depend on them entirely. “The truth is somewhere in between. To use plastic and dispose of it responsibly is important.”