DECEMBER 20228Editorial Exclusive WASTE TO WEALTH: INNOVATION IN e-WASTE ECOSYSTEMs the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement swept the nation, India uncovered its path to a cleaner, more sustainable future. In line with India's declaration in the Paris Accord, the following stride in this direction aims to overstep waste & pollution management, transforming these menaces into productive avenues of energy and growth. The Swachh Bharat Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, set up under the Prime Minister's Science, Technology& Innovation Advisory Council, is an initiative by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. That will leverage global technological capabilities to create socioeconomic benefits for 1.3 billion Indians by addressing the issues of waste disposal, deteriorating air quality, and increasing pollution of water bodies.To achieve India's commitments to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Office of the PSA has established a 'Project Management Unit (PMU) in partnership with Invest India, India's National Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency.The PMU has identified 14 'Sentinel Sites' for its pilot projects across the country through the nodal regional Project Management Units. A recognized professional implementing agency will manage each pilot project with a demonstrated track record of expertise, operational success, and professional knowledge of various academics. And as the R&D institutions collocated near the sentinel sites, the pilot projects will seek to discover, demonstrate, test, and learn from various waste-to-wealth techniques & approaches in collaboration with multiple departments & ministries. The deployment data and the management lessons generated from each project will be at numerous sites across India.Waste-to-EnergyThe Waste Energy facilities accept our solid waste and combust it at very high temperatures, producing heat that converts water into steam. Steam is to run turbines that generate electricity: Ash and other residues from this process. Scrubbers, filters, and other pollution control equipment reduce pollutants released during incineration.India will surpass China as the world's most populous country by 2027; by 2050, India's urban population will nearly double to reach 814 million.According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India currently generates 62 million tons of waste (both recyclable and non­recyclable) every year, with an average annual growth rate of four percent. Solid waste, plastic waste, and e-Waste are the principal waste materials. Waste generation in urban areas of India will be 0.7 kg per person per day in 2025, approximately four to six times higher than in 1999. Air Pollution in India is also a severe health issue. As per a study based on 2016 data, at least 140 million people in India breathe air ten times or more over the WHO safe limit. The most polluted cities in the world, 22 out of 30, were in India in 2018.Types of WasteSolid WasteIn the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), 1.45 lakh tons/day of municipal solid waste in urban India. Only 23 percent of the total developed waste is processed/treated a
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