TN to come out with new policy on solid waste management

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu government will have to formulate a state policy on solid waste management as well as chart out a strategy to manage solid waste within one year after the Union government notified the Solid Waste Management Rule 2016.



As per the new rules, the state policy on solid waste management would be prepared with the help of Central Monitoring Committee, which will be constituted by the Central Monitoring Committee.



The policy would be formulated based on National Solid Waste Management policy and National Urban Sanitation Policy with focus on waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and optimum utilisation of various components of solid waste  to reduce its impact on human health and environment.



The implementation of new rules would also mean that group housing or commercial institution or non-residential complex exceeding 200 dwellings or plot area exceeding 5,000 square metres should have a separate space for segregation, storage, decentralised processing of solid waste.



Even industries using fuel located within 100km from a solid waste based refuse derived fuel plant shall make arrangements within six months to replace atleast five per cent of fuel requirement by refused derived fuel.



Moef has also laid out guidelines pertaining to landfills and said that the sites should be earmarked in land use plans. The landfill sites shall not be permitted within the flood plains as recorded for the last 100 years, zone of coastal regulation, wetland, critical habitat areas and sensitive eco-fragile areas.



Factfile:

1. Every Department in-charge of local bodies of states or Union territory shall constitute a State Level Advisory Body within six months.

2. The State Level Advisory Body shall meet at least once in every six months to review the matters related to implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules

3. Non recyclable waste having calorific value of 1500 K/cal/kg or more shall not be disposed of on landfills and shall only be utilised for generating energy

4. Village panchayats or local bodies should prepare a solid waste management plan as per state policy and strategy on solid waste management within six months from the date of notification of state policy

5. Developers of Special Economic Zone, Industrial Estate, Industrial Park to earmark at least five percent of the total area of the plot or minimum five plots or sheds for recovery and recycling facility