Panaji: Panaji which generates around 18,250 tonnes of municipal solid waste a year has been a pioneer in waste management in India.
Let it be appropriate infrastructure set in place, or mechanism for 5 way segregation of waste from source, the city has been setting impetus for other cities around the globe. City Corporation of Panaji (CCP) has even gone steps beyond and is piloting implementation of 16 way segregation now, with an objective to move more and more waste to recycling routes. City Corporation of Panaji has about hundred compost pits, three composting plants and a centralised material recovery facility, well linked with dry waste collection centres in each zone. City also provides appropriate separate waste collection services for residents and commercial establishments, handling dry and wet waste. What lacks here is a mechanism to reduce waste by making citizens aware.
Recently, waste management audits done under the waste NAMA (Nationally appropriate mitigation action) project for societies under CCP, revealed that there is a need for spreading awareness among residents to realise the potential value associated with the waste they generate daily. One of the mechanism to involve various stakeholders and make them part of appropriate waste management had been shop with your waste (SWYW) campaign, launched by CCP with support from German Federal Ministry, BMU supported waste NAMA project being implemented by GIZ India (German Development Corporation) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), on October 02, 2020.
The SWYW campaign is a barter system allowing exchange of goods of daily items for clean recyclables, with an aim to reduce waste burdens for city and move more and more waste to circular economy loops, targeting sustainable development and low carbon measures. It helps decrease the burden for urban services and environmental footprint..The campaign has also given opportunity to provide better socio economic conditions for the informal waste sector workers during the COVID crisis and also established a sense of value associated with the waste.
The campaign running successfully, infusing a habit of segregating dry recyclables for exchange at the Roopa Cycle and general store opposite Goa college of Pharmacy, 18 June road, Panaji, Goa. The store currently exchanges cardboard, PET bottles and milk pouches against items of daily need.Since October till end of November, this store alone was able to collect and divert around 6000 milk pouches, 2300 PET bottles and around 50 kgs cardboard, which were linked with 21st century polymers for further recycling.
As such SWYW campaign provides a dual advantage of raising awareness among residents and an economic opportunity to the entrepreneurs, as the campaign permits registered shops to trade PET bottles, milk pouches, paper, cardboard and other recyclables against items of daily use like grocery, electronic, medicine, cloth etc. Soon, glass and metal scrap will also be added soon to the campaign to be exchanged under barter system for goods of daily need. The campaign aspires to add more stores and be increased to even canteens of schools and colleges as they reopen.
Taking SWYW campaign ahead, CCP is bringing on board, two more stores from St Inez: Krishna stores at Kamat Plaza building and Prathmesh stationary and general store. These stores will be launched by Shri UdayMadkaikar, Mayor, CCPon coming 30 December 2020.
New shops can also register to become a part of campaign using link http://ccpgoa.com/index.php
Manuja is a fellow at Environment & Waste Management Division, TERI and Rathi is technical advisor- Climate Change at GIZ India. Views expressed are personal.