Apropos your editorial, “If you can’t reuse it, refuse it” (Herald, June 5), India has achieved the highest PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) recycling rates in the world! A report says that India recycles or reuses over 90 per cent of all the PET that is manufactured in our country and the waste-pickers in India are the largest driving force behind recycling. We can achieve almost 100 per cent PET recycling rates if we can use the service of adult waste-pickers in a methodical manner.
Waste-pickers have been rendering great service to the cause of India’s garbage disposal and world’s environment, risking their own lives. While trying to keep the environment clean, they run the risk of allergy, skin rashes, tuberculosis and several other infections.
They dispose of the garbage in the most scientific way by taking the recyclable materials from the garbage vat to where it can be recycled. Without their service, those materials would have been burnt, resulting in air pollution and warming of the environment or would have been dumped resulting in soil/ water pollution and drain choking.
They also prevent the scattered garbage from entering our drains, water bodies and soil. The waste-pickers deserve to be rewarded for their services and engaged in the Swachh Bharat Abihiyan (SBA). It will certainly help the Swachh Bharat Abihiyan to have more teeth.
The need of the hour is to entrust local self governments to register all adult waste-pickers in their respective areas and make them engage in garbage recycling, compost creation and management.
Corporations, municipalities and panchayats are to provide each of them under their jurisdiction with an identity card, a uniform, a sack and a stick (to shoo away street dogs and to rummage through garbage).
They should also be given money, food, soap, hand – gloves and pollution – masks every week. These items will give them recognition, prestige and protection which they really deserve.
It will cause more recycling and less burning. If garbage is managed scientifically, it will check air pollution and global warming. Moreover, better look waste – pickers with clean uniform and sack will make our country look better.
There is however no question of disturbing the exclusive job of the cleaning staff to dispose of the non-recyclable garbage. Child waste-pickers must be encouraged to go to school and provided with food packets and other incentives, apart from the midday meal.
