Comments on Hari Batti's Green Light Dhaba: The Trouble with Trash (It's not the imported cond...

@wordjunkie: really nice to see you here. I think...

2009-10-27T22:15:37.000+05:30

@wordjunkie: really nice to see you here. I think you add some needed depth to this discussion. I'm not sure there is really anything all that bad about importing paper--it's better than cutting our forests--as long as it's paper we get, not trash. And I think the problem is that sometimes we feel so frustrated by the lack of enforcement of laws that we throw up our hands and say, NO PAPER, because we think that's the only way we can stop POISON. I'd rather see us say, NO POISON and figure out a way to enforce that. I wonder if @Bhagwad points us in an interesting direction: the courts. I tend not to think of courts as the answer to most problems. But I do think that in the context of a broader social movement and awareness, sometimes the courts can push things along a little faster than the government might be willing to push. Absent of that, they tend to weigh n and then back out: a few years back they went all out against illegal constructions in Delhi--even had a mini mall or two knocked down--but that got quiet relatively soon. (They also displaced a lot of poor people, of course; I think the mall demolition may have been about looking "even handed." That's an old story.)

@Bhagwad, Interesting points. I agree business is not typically going to act morally for the sake of morality. I think effective regulation is really the only solution. And as wordjunkie points out, we've got a lot of good laws on the books, at least regarding importation of trash. (Though that is only part of the picture, we all agree). Enforcement is the tough part. The government does need to make this a priority; how to make that happen another question. Let's keep thinking about it. BTW, I retweeted a thing on animal rights you might be interested in; I ran out of room or I would have mentioned you.
cheers, HB

As some of us saw in your earlier post on "Th...

2009-10-27T20:41:57.000+05:30

As some of us saw in your earlier post on "The story of stuff", this is exactly what happens - the most objectionable bit is where our land is used for their trash.

But in my opinion, here is the killer statement in your article:

"in their quest for short term profits, Indian businesses are importing way too much trash from abroad" . I always have a problem when we try and define a business in terms of a single number - profits. Before you think this is just another rant on corporates, hear me out.

If I manufacture fabric, I can make it a variety of ways. I can do the right thing and do it cleanly without ****ing up the environment or I can do a poor job and dump my mess into the rivers. Either way, I can manufacture fabric and have a choice while still achieving my goals. But the moment I say "I want to maximize my profit" - well then there's just one way to do that!

The moment we start obsessing on numbers instead of the business, there's only one thing that's going to happen. Because we're going to want to maximze those numbers no matter what. So as soon as we hear "I want to maximize my profits", it's all over and there's no need to read the rest of the sentence.

In the case of trash, why won't Indian companies do what they're doing now? There's no point asking them to be moral! Since there's no one person in charge in a company, no one has to bear the entire moral burden. Corporate citizenship is all very well but this sort of citizen has no conscience!

But what's the solution to all this? Government regulation? Maybe - if it didn't cause much damage to the economy, maybe the govt. would do something. Otherwise the Government is interested in profits and the economy too. The best hope for India is probably the judiciary which is one of the most independent in the world - they don't have to care about profits and can go about doing the right thing instead.

A strong environmental minister with clout might help too, as well as proper media coverage. That just might get people upset enough for the Government to start feeling the heat. So two options alone - The courts, or the media. Without either of these getting involved big time, I'm afraid there's no hope.

Tehelka carried a similar report last year about h...

2009-10-27T13:21:31.000+05:30

Tehelka carried a similar report last year about how all kinds of hazardous and muncipal wastes were mislabelled 'waste paper' and shipped into India.
And as recently as this month, a ship loaded with toxi PBs was found illegally entering Alang.
http://www.ban.org/ban_news/2009/091022_toxic_us_ship_lands_in_india.html

We do have laws in place, just very little implementation. Every municipality is supposed to ensure proper waste segregation yet how much do we see around us. let's not even begin to talk about biomedical waste management, despite coherent legislation on the matter.

Another issue regarding imports - such shipments pass through customs first , not any arm of the evironment ministry. So revenues (not to mention bribes) are more the focus here than environment. We are already famous for poor coordination among ministries, so there is little wonder our customs will allow just about anything in, unless someone blows the whistle.

Ewaste, as also mercury in CFLs is certainly a serious issue . Electronics and light bulb manufacturers abroad have strict take-back polcies and other recycling measures in place, municipalities levy tippig fees on their disposal .. all things we have failed to follow.

regarding the waste paper, the sad truth is that importing waste paper, regardless of its condition, works out cheaper than attempting to organize waste paper collection and sorting domestically. It is also considered to be of better quality, and goes back into local paper manufacture, so I see the paper lobby strongly resisting any efforts to curb imports.