Don’t trash the Himalayas, manage waste wisely

IF you can’t clean your surroundings, then don’t make them dirty. It is as simple as that. However, persisting with our crooked way of living, we are transforming our mountains adorned with trees, foliage, running streams and rich biodiversity into mountains of garbage, junk, slime pits and debris. Of all the waste we generate, plastic bags are perhaps the greatest symbol of our throwaway society and symptomatic of our apathy towards the environment. They are used, then forgotten, and they leave a terrible legacy. Plastic waste is now found in even the most remote areas of Himachal Pradesh. It kills agriculture, destroys forest wealth, injures livestock and wildlife alike, and thus does major harm to local communities. We humans indeed possess the perverse talent of making waste that even nature can’t digest.

Against this background, the Himachal Pradesh Government notification making it mandatory for every public transport to keep a dustbin is a welcome step; violation would attract a fine of Rs 10,000. The declared purpose is pollution prevention and environmental protection.

Undoubtedly, the garbage strewn all around is taking a toll on the environment. The step, though a correct one, is just a small one towards a destination that is miles away. The notification says that the “owners/drivers" of the vehicles will “dispose of the garbage at designated places." The real challenge begins now; where are the designated places and where will they be established? Will these be accessible and convenient? Will we be able to keep these places clean and hygienic?

Historically, waste management has been an urban phenomenon and was never an issue, till the recent times, in the rural areas of the hill regions such as Himachal Pradesh as almost the entire waste generated would be biodegradable.

However, changing consumption patterns have resulted in both durables and fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) packaged in multi-layered plastic reaching rural households even in the remotest of the areas. This has led to an increase in non-biodegradable waste in rural areas.

With no waste collection systems in place, people exercise the only options available to them: burn it or dump it downhill and in rivers. Each of the options aggravates pollution.

Recently, during a visit to our distant village, my wife and I vowed to not throw even an iota of non-biodegradable waste on public land or in the forest, let alone burn it or dump it in a pit. The passion behind this thought was to protect our environs. Apart from our own home, we also collected garbage from the surrounding area. In just 10 days, we collected so much garbage that after loading the garbage bags on the vehicle, it became a challenging task to adjust our own luggage. We sent this garbage to a plant more than 100 km away.

We had the means to transport and the ability to bear the expenses; but for how long? What should the other villagers do? Everyone has found almost the same solution: throw it on the nearest government or forest land or burn or bury. Shopkeepers and traders generate garbage in bulk and, sadly, this gets dumped into heaps in the nearest forest. Just look at the connecting roads near any small town or kasba; inevitably, amidst the trees, you will find heaps of garbage of sundry waste, with plastic wrappers and bottles being the dominant ones.

The stench of rotting garbage overpowers the fragrant smell of deodar, pine, ban, etc every few minutes during a walk in the rural hilly tracks. I experience it repeatedly and not just on one or two but many connecting roads and tracks without exception. Such a scenario would undoubtedly exist in every rural connecting road and footpath. Plastic wrappers, bottles, garbage of several hues and colours: this is the scene that defiles our environment, which used to be pristine not so long ago. And I am referring to such roads and footpaths where, till date, no tourist has set foot.

If our strategy of garbage disposal remains focussed only on tourists, then it will probably be less than a drop in the ocean. Management can be done easily at tourist places, but what about hundreds of villages and towns? Leave aside the solution, no one even accepts it as a problem.

Curiously, on the same route, soiled intermittently by garbage, a milk collection vehicle arrives each morning and its driver stops it every four steps to take milk from the villagers and keep account. A strong institutional system is in place for milk collection and it is working efficiently. Now, if milk can be collected, why not garbage? Why can’t we establish an institutional mechanism for garbage collection; after all, this too is produced every day, and in much larger quantities than milk.

As per common understanding, milk is income while garbage is expenditure; one is an asset and the other a burden. Let us change our perspective a little. We need to acknowledge that we are unwittingly accumulating heaps of garbage in the lap of snow. Chips, chocolates and many such junk food items at a paltry Rs 5 each have brought this filth to the paths and doors of every house; and these cannot be destroyed through natural means. Therefore, garbage management and disposal is not a burden but a responsible investment in the security of the future, in the protection of our most valuable heritage: the Himalayas. Moreover, the new business paradigm considers waste as wealth.

All we need to do is designate and create convenient collection points for garbage disposal, of course after segregation; a light responsibility that the local bodies could undertake. Collection, disposal, recycling, etc would be taken care of by entities that have learnt to monetise waste.

The Himalayas are a miracle of nature, the body and soul of our nation; their innumerable water bodies irrigate the life of the entire North India and the fertile land of East India is their gift, too.

Unfortunately, today they are being attacked by us through the garbage we have generated. The Himalayas and Himachal are reflections of each other; they are also literal synonyms: one is the abode of snow, the other resides in the lap of snow.

When we dishonour the Himalayas and their beautiful valleys with garbage, we forget that this wound will hurt our future generations the most. They will lose nature’s most precious heritage.

Tarun Shridhar is Director General, Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture, and a former IAS officer.

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