Why you can never find garbage in Sweden

    Even as Indian cities like Bangalore slowly transform into one huge garbage dump thanks to faulty civic planning, Sweden finds itself with a unique problem on its hands: there’s no garbage left in the country. The Scandinavian nation has been ‘importing’ trash from neighbouring Norway to feed its waste-to-energy programme that provides, through incineration, heat and electricity to thousands of households in the country with a population of 9.5 million.

    The story first broke on the American public radio organization Public Radio International and has since been picked up by a number of green blogs and websites. Sweden’s superefficient waste segregation and recycling systems have made sure only about 4% of the country’s waste ends up in landfills.
 

    So how did Sweden get so good at waste management, and what can other countries learn from it? Firstly, Sweden started putting effective systems in place from the early 1990s and took a holistic approach, through policy changes, engagement with industry and awareness programmes, to reach out to all stakeholders of Swedish society. Producers were made responsible for dealing with several categories of waste. Landfill bans and taxes were introduced, and targets set set for increased recycling. More than 90% of household waste in Sweden is recycled, reused or recovered.
 

    By law, companies are responsible for collecting the entire waste-stream stemming from their products, either on their own or through public or private contractors, writes Magnus Schönning in the Toronto Star. There is a strong economic incentive for companies to produce less waste from products and product packaging. Sweden has encouraged heavy recycling by combining economic incentives, such as garbage collection fees, with easy access to recycling stations and public awareness campaigns, says the Toronto Star report. In 2005, Sweden made it illegal to landfill organic waste. Instead, the waste is biologically treated to make compost, biogas and fertilizer.
 

    However, the bulk of the waste is converted into energy through processes that have been refined over the years to be as clean and environmentally sustainable as possible. In fact, Sweden claims that the damage to the environment caused by the release of dioxins, harmful chemicals released when waste is incinerated, is less than the damage caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
 

    Thanks to these proactive measures, landfilling of household waste fell from 1,380,000 tonnes in 1994 to 380,000 tonnes in 2004. Around 1.3 million tonnes of materials and 5.7 TWh (terawatt hour) of energy in the form of heat and electricity were recovered from household waste in 2004: an increase of 140% and 70%, respectively, since 1994. Surely, Sweden is showing Asia's growing cities how to make a clean sweep.
 

    For more: pri.org; naturvardsverket.se 

 

TALKING TRASH: Sweden generated 118 million tonnes of waste in 2010

‘Ekla cholo re’, free India’s 1st voter tells HP

Rohan Dua TNN

Kalpa (Kinnaur): When a 90-year-old will complete a twokm barefoot walk in the hills at 10,000 feet here on Sunday, it would be a giant leap for Indian democracy. For, he is independent India’s first voter. And, he says it would be Gandhi’s Dandi March and Tagore’s ‘ekla cholo re’ that would inspire him to take those steps to exercise his franchise in yet another election since his first vote way back in 1951.
    

Shyam Saran Negi, during his conversation with TOI, says: “Jaise Gandhiji chale thhe Dandi par. Aur jaise Tagore ne likha tha ‘ekla chalo re’. Vote daalenge apne wajood se, nange paaon chalke. Yeh virodh bhi hai aur adhikar bhi.”
 

    On October 3, when the EC declared polls, TOI had met Shyam Saran to kick off its Dance of Democracy coverage. “India is no longer the democracy it was in 1951 when I and the rest of Kinnaur voted. Corruption, scandals and money laundering have shaken my faith. Freedom has a reduced meaning now,” he had told TOI then. The same day the chief election commissioner had announced him as the first voter of India who had exercised his franchise on October 25, 1951.
 

    On Saturday, a few hours before he was to cast his vote for the 27th time in an election — both general and Vidhan Sabha — Shyam Saran was as emotional and involved about India’s future as earlier.
 

    “Public speeches in 1951 were focused on India’s development in agriculture, education, science and health. Now the focus is on unemployment and price rise. Why? Because politicians could not drive our economy,” said Saran.
 

    Last month’s bitter and foul exchange among visiting leaders in his state has only left Saran further disenchanted. “Did Modi, Sonia or Advani meet anyone? Did they inquire if people have adequate rations at home? They merely stood at a distance and traded charges. This country needs more of Gandhis and Hazares,” he said.
 

    Saran was surprised when he was approached on October 5 by both the BJP and the Congress. “After media reports, I got calls by several political leaders. But I said a big no. Yeh zameer bikega nahi kabhi. I will vote for the candidate not the party,” he said angrily.

SHOWING THE WAY: Shyam Saran Negi says he’ll vote for the candidate not for the party