Page 28 - Plastics News December2018
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              But their value to waste pickers depends on how heavy   more than 1,000°C to prevent the release of pollutants                                      PLASTICS
              these items are. Collecting a thick polypropylene basket   such as dioxins and furans. For this, pollution-control
              is worth the effort, because it fetches more money, but   boards must monitor cement kilns, and this monitoring
              collecting a thin polypropylene carry bag is not. Even   is often not stringent. Yet another problem with RDF is
              recyclable plastics, like polypropylene, become useless   the economics. To create the fuel, plants must segregate                                  EXHIBITIONS
              when they are soiled, because washing them raises the   waste.  This adds to the cost of the fuel, making it
              cost of recycling substantially. This is why segregation is   unattractive compared to coke. These barriers have kept
              critical to prevent soiling, and recovering such plastics isn’t   RDF-use from taking off. Bengaluru, for example, has had                           CALENDAR FOR 2019-2020
              a technological problem, but a civic one. “As a polymer   numerous standoffs between its cement manufacturers
              technologist, I have no answer to it,” says Syed Amanulla,   and the city municipal corporation, because the former
              a plastics researcher at Bhubaneshwar’s CIPET Institute of   often refuse to accept RDF for fuel.
              Plastic Technology. But there are technological challenges   The way forward
              too. One of the most troublesome waste categories,
              technologically  speaking,  is  multilayered  plastic,  used   In 2017, Indians generated about 72 million tonnes of
              for wrapping everything from potato wafers to shampoos   municipal solid waste per day, ICRIER estimates. Out of
              today. Another  is thermoset  plastics.  In  contrast  with   this, about 6.5 million tonnes was plastic. The solution to
                                                                    this giant environmental problem is within reach. “Even
                                                                    a  layperson  knows  what  needs  to  be  done.  Waste  has
                                                                    to be segregated at source. Yet, few States have done
                                                                    anything,”  says  Dr. Amanulla.For  segregation,  greater
                                                                    civic awareness is a must. But municipalities must also
                                                                    set  up the  infrastructure  and  notify their  solid-waste
                                                                    management policy under the 2016 rules. So far, only a
                                                                    few cities have done this. Another feature missing from
                                                                    the Indian landscape is the idea of “extended producer                                                                              5 th                                  7 th
                                                                    responsibility” (EPR). EPR has not taken off in most cities,                                Launch                                Edition                                Edition
                                                                                                                                                                Edition
                                                                    says Ms. Chandran.
                                                                                                                                                 NIGERIA                              MYANMAR                                  KENYA
                                                                                               Collection
              thermoplastic, which can be melted into other items,      City      Population   (door-to-   Segregation                       Mar 19-21, 2019                       June 14-16, 2019                        July 11-13, 2019
              thermosets burn upon heating. Together, these plastics                 (Mn)       door) %    at source %                             Lagos                                Yangon                                  Nairobi
              cannot be recycled and pose major environmental threats.   Bhopal      2.1          100           -
              So, what do cities do with them? Those with poor waste   Thirunelveli  0.5          100         100
              management put them in landfills. Cities that segregate   Alappuzha    0.2          100          76
              do one better: they use them as fuel in cement kilns. For   Suryapet   0.1          100           -
              example, out of the 4,800 tonnes of solid waste Bangalore   Panaji     0.07         100          90
              generates a day, about 68 tonnes of multilayer and non-  Ahmedabad     7.5          95            -
                                                                                                                                                                 6
                                                                                                                                                                                                        4
                                                                                                                                                                  th
                                                                                                                                                                                                         th
              recyclables are turned into bricks of Refuse-Derived-Fuel   Chandigarh  1.2         95            -                                              Edition                                Edition                                 3 rd
              (RDF). These are then shipped off to cement kilns.    Mysuru            1           95           55                                                                                                                            Edition
              Plastic as fuel                                       Indore           2.5          90           53                              SRI LANKA                               VIETNAM                           SOUTH AFRICA
                                                                    Warangal         0.9          90            -
              But environmentalists say that burning plastic for fuel   Gangtok      0.1          90           30                             Aug 9-11, 2019                       Feb 20-22, 2020                          Mar 3-5, 2020
              should be the last option. When plastic is burnt, industries   Mumbai   20          80            -                                Colombo                          Ho Chi Minh City                         Johannesburg
              must extract fossil fuels again to make new plastics. “By   Chennai     10          80            -
              burning it, you are destroying it, which means you mine   Hyderabad    9.1          73            -
              for new material,” says Ms. Chandran. This increases the   Bengaluru   10.4         71           50
              carbon footprint of the product.                      Surat            5.8          60           12

              Secondly, burning plastics without emissions is tough. In   Pune       5.8          50           52                         INDIA                                      INTERNATIONAL                                 Organised by
              cement kilns, for example, RDF must be incinerated at   Delhi          19.1         39            -                         Narendar Bafna : +91 99529 66752           Sasikumar. B : +91 90030 25103
                                                                    Ludhiana         1.7          25            -
                                                                                                                                          Vijay. N : +91 97890 95249                 sasikumar.b@smartexpos.in
                                                                                                                                          plastics@smartexpos.in

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