Environment ministry to have resource efficiency cell, signs MoU with TERI

The Environment Ministry today signed an MoU with TERI for setting up a resource efficiency cell.

In the run up to the World Environment Day, a number of initiatives were launched by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to help the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) focus on waste management and resource efficiency.

The initiatives were unveiled by K Mishra, Environment secretary and Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, at an event here.

The MoU to set up the cell at the ministry aims to provide mainstream resource efficiency in public policy besides serving as a platform for various ministries and agencies to promote resource efficiency in the use of materials in the country, said a statement from TERI.

An industry consortium on 'Waste-Proofing the Future' to identify the institutional and policy interventions needed to sustainably manage waste was also launched at the event.

The consortium has been launched with eight members comprising Aditya Birla Group, RED FM, Dalmia (Bharat) Cement Ltd, Uflex Ltd and other enterprises.

India generates an estimated 32 million metric tons of packaging waste each year, of which plastic constitutes 16 per cent. The unorganised collection of waste leads to cherry-picking of waste, with only 14 per cent of plastic packaging being collected for recycling, it said.

A TERI paper on 'Opportunities and Challenges of Plastics Waste Management' was released at the event.

The paper states that households generate maximum plastic waste, of which water and soft drink bottles form a large number, in the country.

In terms of plastic in water bodies, seas near Mumbai, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are among the worst polluted in the world, finds the paper.

The plastic debris under water affect at least 267 species worldwide, including 86 per cent of all sea turtle species, 44 per cent of all seabird species, and 43 per cent of all marine mammal species, it noted.