Pathways for Sustainable Urban Waste Management and Reduced Environmental Health Risks in India: Winners, Losers, and Alternatives to Waste to Energy in Delhi

Randhawa, Pritpal; Marshall, Fiona; Kushwaha, Pravin Kumar; Desai, Pranav N.

doi:10.3389/frsc.2020.00014

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Two new plants are expected to be operational in 2023 with a combined WTE capacity of 8050 tons/day. However, [120] identified various socio-economic and environmental concerns with this singular focus on WTE plants, such as (a) the impact on the livelihood of informal rag-pickers since all the recyclables would be diverted to the plants. Approximately 300,000 informal waste workers' livelihoods would be at threat with the addition of two new plants.…”

Section: Waste Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Polluting Delhi’s Air? A Review from 1990 to 2022

Guttikunda

Dammalapati²,

Pradhan³

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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Delhi’s annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2021–22 was 100 μg/m3—20 times more than the WHO guideline of 5 μg/m3. This is an improvement compared to the limited information available for the pre-CNG-conversion era (~30%), immediately before and after 2010 CWG (~28%), and the mid-2010s (~20%). These changes are a result of continuous technical and economic interventions interlaced with judicial engagement in various sectors. Still, Delhi is ranked the most polluted capital city in the world. Delhi’s air quality is a major social and political concern in India, often with questions regarding its severity and primary sources, and despite several studies on the topic, there is limited consensus on source contributions. This paper offers insight by reviewing the influence of Delhi’s urban growth since 1990 on pollution levels and sources and the evolution of technical, institutional, and legal measures to control emissions in the National Capital Region of Delhi.

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Section: Waste Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Polluting Delhi’s Air? A Review from 1990 to 2022

Guttikunda

Dammalapati²,

Pradhan³

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Demaria and Schindler 2016;Islam and Jashimuddin 2017;Luthra 2017). These studies were conducted across income statuses and evaluated multiple air pollutants, including dioxins and furans (Mukherjee et al 2020;Randhawa et al 2020;Vanapalli et al 2019), NOx, and SO 2 (DeAngelo 2004;Dijkgraaf and Vollebergh 2004;Mavrotas et al 2015), particulate matter (Mavrotas et al 2015;Randhawa et al 2020), and heavy metals (Mavrotas et al 2015). Generally, impacts depended on the air pollutant of interest.…”

Section: Air Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four WTE studies (12%) evaluated impacts on human health. Two studies found WTE had negative effects on human health in India, primarily related to increased air pollution (Demaria and Schindler 2016;Randhawa et al 2020). One found positive health benefits of WTE, due to reduced air pollution compared to fossil fuel-based energy production.…”

Section: Human Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of plastic waste management strategies

et al. 2023

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The ecological and societal impacts of plastics production, use, and waste are a complex global challenge. Management strategies to mitigate the impacts of plastics, such as recycling, waste-to-energy, and replacement with alternative materials have impacts of their own. Achieving long-term sustainability of plastics use therefore requires considering the externalized impacts of such management strategies. Here, we assessed the literature on the most common plastic waste management strategies to identify their impacts in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals. We reviewed impacts of bans, levies, and taxes; alternative products; recycling; waste-to-energy; plastic recovery; and extended producer responsibility. Our analysis identified a total of 259 measured impacts of plastic waste mitigation strategies, from 113 papers. Ninety-three impacts were negative, 104 were positive, 11 were neutral, and 51 depended on the context of implementation. Consideration of the impacts of both plastic materials and management strategies is necessary to avoid perverse outcomes of plastic pollution mitigation efforts.

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“…In the waste management sector, for instance, an estimated 90% of the waste generated in India is dumped in public spaces instead of being disposed of at engineered landfill sites (Kumar et al 2017 ). Even in large metropolitan cities like Delhi, waste-to-energy (WTE) plants and landfill sites are out of capacity and located close to densely populated residential areas (Kumar et al 2017 ; Randhawa et al 2020 ; Ahmed et al 2020 ). In rural and semi-urban areas, the state of infrastructure for waste management is often worse than in cities, lacking the basic capacity to collect, segregate, and appropriately manage and dispose of, leaving room for open burning and diffuse sources of hazardous substances (including several EDCs) to the environment (Sutar and Gawande 2013 ; Chakraborty et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Challenges For Managing Edcs In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Unlocking India’s Potential in Managing Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs): Importance, Challenges, and Opportunities

et al. 2022

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Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a prime concern for the environment and health globally. Research shows that in developing countries such as India both the environment and human populations are severely exposed to EDCs and consequently experience rising incidents of adverse health effects such as diabetes and cancers. In this paper, we discuss the current EDC management approach in India, critically assess its limitations, and describe opportunities for potential improvements. Foremost, current EDC management actions and interventions in India are fragmented and outdated, and far behind the modern and comprehensive approaches adopted in the European Union and other developed countries. Strong and well-planned actions are required on various fronts of science, policy, commerce, and public engagement. These actions include the adoption of a dedicated and modern regulatory framework for managing EDCs, enhancing capacity and infrastructure for EDC monitoring in the environment and human population, employing public–private partnership programs for not only managing EDCs but also in the sectors that indirectly contribute toward the mismanagement of EDCs in the country, and raising awareness on EDCs and promoting health-preserving consumption habits among the public. As India hosts a large proportion of the global human population and biodiversity, the success or failure of its actions will substantially affect the direction of global efforts to manage EDCs and set an example for other developing countries.

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Pathways for Sustainable Urban Waste Management and Reduced Environmental Health Risks in India: Winners, Losers, and Alternatives to Waste to Energy in Delhi

Cited by 14 publications

References 18 publications

What Is Polluting Delhi’s Air? A Review from 1990 to 2022

What Is Polluting Delhi’s Air? A Review from 1990 to 2022

Impacts of plastic waste management strategies

Unlocking India’s Potential in Managing Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs): Importance, Challenges, and Opportunities

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