New Delhi, 13 January 2023: ERIA, Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), co-organised the hybrid seminar Latest Trends of Waste Management Technologies Contributing to Marine Plastic Debris Reduction, part of India-Japan Environment Week, held from 12 to 13 January in New Delhi.
The seminar introduced India's progress on waste/plastic management policies, discussed potential applications of Japan’s waste/plastic management technologies, and shared relevant activities conducted by ERIA and ADB in combatting India's waste/plastic management challenges.
Mr Binay Jha, Director of India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), said urban waste generation in the country had reached 143,000 tons/day, but, despite the mounting waste, India was facing up to the challenge of adequately managing 100% of its waste by 2025. To achieve this target, it will seek solutions through methods such as composting, promoting material recovery facilities (MRF), bio methanation, and converting waste to energy.
Mr Norio Saito, ADB Director of Urban Development and Water Division, South Asia Department, said the bank's support for the waste management sector falls under operational priorities No 3 and No 4. The former aims to tackle climate change, build climate and disaster resilience, and enhance environmental sustainability; while the latter aims to make cities more liveable.
‘Within this framework, ADB has launched the Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Blue Economies, known as the Healthy Oceans project. In this project, we have several flagship agendas, such as coastal resilience, plastic free oceans, ocean finance, and sustainable food,’ Mr Saito said during his opening remarks.
ADB has also conducted a waste management improvement project in Bagerhat, Bangladesh, and a waste to energy project in Greater Malé, Maldives, he added.
Private Sector Contributions to Plastic Waste Reduction
Mr Raghavendra Rao Tirumalasetty, Senior Manager of Business Development and Proposals from Hitachi Zosen India, told a panel on innovative business approaches to tackling plastic waste how his company’s Kompogas turned organic waste, such as food and green waste, into electricity. Hitachi Zosen has also recently constructed the largest Kompogas technology plant in Doha, Qatar.
Mr Soumya Bhattacharya, Deputy General Manager of JFE Engineering Corporation, spoke of how his company has developed waste-to-energy technology with a moving grate furnace, which enables efficient combustion and generates minimal ash residue. He emphasised how a comprehensive waste management plan should include source segregation, transportation, waste supply, suitable technology, long term market of sale, and tipping fees.
‘To achieve the carbon neutral society, the bottom ash and fly ash should be safely treated,’ he said.
Mr Rio Waza, Managing Director at Daiki Axis India, spoke of the Johkasou Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which is simpler than other facilities, such as sequencing batch reactors and moving bed biofilm reactors, in terms of operation and maintenance because it does not require a human operator and consumes less energy.
The plant has also received GreenPro Ecolabel certification and qualified as a green product from the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Johkasou STP has also been endorsed as a recommended innovative technology by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Mr Sahil Ghai, Senior Manager on Projects and EPR of Shakti Plastics, Ltd, a plastic waste management company based in Mumbai, said the company has recycled plastic waste into eco-friendly products. Acknowledging that land-based mismanaged plastic waste constitutes the majority of marine plastic debris, the company has diverted more than 200,000 MT of plastic waste from landfills into 25,000 recycled products. Shakti also organised beach clean-ups and has recovered and recycled 5,873 MT of ocean-bound plastic waste.
Green Technology Used by Local Municipalities
Fukuoka City in Japan has successfully managed its municipal solid waste with the Fukuoka Method semi-aerobic landfill technology, which was developed jointly by Fukuoka University and Fukuoka City to overcome environmental problems from the anaerobic landfill structure back in the 1970s.
Ms Naomi Mizokami, a representative from the Environmental Policy Section, Environmental Bureau, Fukuoka City, Japan, explained how the Fukuoka Method has now been implemented in 21 countries across the world because of its rapid stabilisation, low-cost, and simple features.
‘This method also suppressed methane generation, which positively contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,’ she said.
Fukuoka has also implemented efficient garbage collection by separating household garbage into four categories: burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, oversized garbage, and glass bottles and PET bottles. Collection of the garbage is carried out at night to improve work efficiency, reduce crow damage, and prevent crime and disaster.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA Senior Advisor, shared good practices in improving recyclability and ensuring the quality of horizontal recycling in Japan. The recycling of PET bottles, for example, was initiated in 1992 through voluntary design guidelines by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling, with the basic requirement for PET bottles to be largely recyclable in Japan. The PET bottle is recycled back into a bottle using both chemical recycling approved by the Food Safety Committee in 2004, and mechanical processes approved in 2012.
‘In FY2021, among 740,000 tons of resin for PET bottle production, 118,000 tons were from recycled resin,’ he said.
Reconciling demand for recycled products with accessible supply is also critical, he said. The Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) of recycled products was developed to ensure the level of quality between supply and demand matches. The standard for wood-plastic recycled composite, for instance, classified the composite into different categories depending on the content rate of recycled materials, as well as various quality standards such as density, strength, water absorption rate, and maximum level of hazardous substances.
Mr Kojima emphasised the role of local government in reducing marine plastic debris through comprehensive waste management. Local governments should expand waste collection services to rural areas as well as reduce waste and promote recycling. This can be performed through inter-municipal cooperation, charging a waste collection fee, source separation programmes, and investment in bailing machines to reduce transportation costs for the recycling companies.
Communication Desk
New Delhi, 13 January 2023: ERIA, Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), co-organised the hybrid seminar Latest Trends of Waste Management Technologies Contributing to Marine Plastic Debris Reduction, part of India-Japan Environment Week, held from 12 to 13 January in New Delhi.
The seminar introduced India's progress on waste/plastic management policies, discussed potential applications of Japan’s waste/plastic management technologies, and shared relevant activities conducted by ERIA and ADB in combatting India's waste/plastic management challenges.
Mr Binay Jha, Director of India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), said urban waste generation in the country had reached 143,000 tons/day, but, despite the mounting waste, India was facing up to the challenge of adequately managing 100% of its waste by 2025. To achieve this target, it will seek solutions through methods such as composting, promoting material recovery facilities (MRF), bio methanation, and converting waste to energy.
Mr Norio Saito, ADB Director of Urban Development and Water Division, South Asia Department, said the bank's support for the waste management sector falls under operational priorities No 3 and No 4. The former aims to tackle climate change, build climate and disaster resilience, and enhance environmental sustainability; while the latter aims to make cities more liveable.
‘Within this framework, ADB has launched the Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Blue Economies, known as the Healthy Oceans project. In this project, we have several flagship agendas, such as coastal resilience, plastic free oceans, ocean finance, and sustainable food,’ Mr Saito said during his opening remarks.
ADB has also conducted a waste management improvement project in Bagerhat, Bangladesh, and a waste to energy project in Greater Malé, Maldives, he added.
Private Sector Contributions to Plastic Waste Reduction
Mr Raghavendra Rao Tirumalasetty, Senior Manager of Business Development and Proposals from Hitachi Zosen India, told a panel on innovative business approaches to tackling plastic waste how his company’s Kompogas turned organic waste, such as food and green waste, into electricity. Hitachi Zosen has also recently constructed the largest Kompogas technology plant in Doha, Qatar.
Mr Soumya Bhattacharya, Deputy General Manager of JFE Engineering Corporation, spoke of how his company has developed waste-to-energy technology with a moving grate furnace, which enables efficient combustion and generates minimal ash residue. He emphasised how a comprehensive waste management plan should include source segregation, transportation, waste supply, suitable technology, long term market of sale, and tipping fees.
‘To achieve the carbon neutral society, the bottom ash and fly ash should be safely treated,’ he said.
Mr Rio Waza, Managing Director at Daiki Axis India, spoke of the Johkasou Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which is simpler than other facilities, such as sequencing batch reactors and moving bed biofilm reactors, in terms of operation and maintenance because it does not require a human operator and consumes less energy.
The plant has also received GreenPro Ecolabel certification and qualified as a green product from the Confederation of Indian Industry. The Johkasou STP has also been endorsed as a recommended innovative technology by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Mr Sahil Ghai, Senior Manager on Projects and EPR of Shakti Plastics, Ltd, a plastic waste management company based in Mumbai, said the company has recycled plastic waste into eco-friendly products. Acknowledging that land-based mismanaged plastic waste constitutes the majority of marine plastic debris, the company has diverted more than 200,000 MT of plastic waste from landfills into 25,000 recycled products. Shakti also organised beach clean-ups and has recovered and recycled 5,873 MT of ocean-bound plastic waste.
Green Technology Used by Local Municipalities
Fukuoka City in Japan has successfully managed its municipal solid waste with the Fukuoka Method semi-aerobic landfill technology, which was developed jointly by Fukuoka University and Fukuoka City to overcome environmental problems from the anaerobic landfill structure back in the 1970s.
Ms Naomi Mizokami, a representative from the Environmental Policy Section, Environmental Bureau, Fukuoka City, Japan, explained how the Fukuoka Method has now been implemented in 21 countries across the world because of its rapid stabilisation, low-cost, and simple features.
‘This method also suppressed methane generation, which positively contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,’ she said.
Fukuoka has also implemented efficient garbage collection by separating household garbage into four categories: burnable garbage, non-burnable garbage, oversized garbage, and glass bottles and PET bottles. Collection of the garbage is carried out at night to improve work efficiency, reduce crow damage, and prevent crime and disaster.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA Senior Advisor, shared good practices in improving recyclability and ensuring the quality of horizontal recycling in Japan. The recycling of PET bottles, for example, was initiated in 1992 through voluntary design guidelines by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling, with the basic requirement for PET bottles to be largely recyclable in Japan. The PET bottle is recycled back into a bottle using both chemical recycling approved by the Food Safety Committee in 2004, and mechanical processes approved in 2012.
‘In FY2021, among 740,000 tons of resin for PET bottle production, 118,000 tons were from recycled resin,’ he said.
Reconciling demand for recycled products with accessible supply is also critical, he said. The Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) of recycled products was developed to ensure the level of quality between supply and demand matches. The standard for wood-plastic recycled composite, for instance, classified the composite into different categories depending on the content rate of recycled materials, as well as various quality standards such as density, strength, water absorption rate, and maximum level of hazardous substances.
Mr Kojima emphasised the role of local government in reducing marine plastic debris through comprehensive waste management. Local governments should expand waste collection services to rural areas as well as reduce waste and promote recycling. This can be performed through inter-municipal cooperation, charging a waste collection fee, source separation programmes, and investment in bailing machines to reduce transportation costs for the recycling companies.
Communication Desk
