Secretary MOHUA confident of partnering Cement Manufacturers Association in plastics and waste management
Segregation, Quality, Consistency and Logistics key to waste management in India
New Delhi, October 1, 2019: Speaking at Cement Manufacturers Association’s coveted conference on alternative fuel and raw materials (AFR) Conserve 2019, the Hon’ble Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Durga Shankar Mishra called upon the cement industry to utilize plastics waste within 200 km radius of their plant. He said that 46 cement plants had already committed to use plastic waste within its 200 km radius and thanked the Cement Manufacturers Association for enabling this. However he was confident that in near future this number will go up, with all the 238 plants agreeing and coming together to utilise the plastic waste in their vicinity. The Secretary assured that the government was willing to sit down and discuss with the industry on how to best manage the process of plastic and waste disposal.
The conference itself came in the backdrop of intense discussion on the persisting issue of climate change in New York, where the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi made a historic pledge on India’s intention to move away from fossil fuels to alternate and renewable fuels. The conference saw members of Cement Industry along with other stakeholders including senior government officials and technocrats come together to discuss the role of cement industry in contributing to India’s alternate fuel and emission goals.
This conference of Cement Manufacturers Association was supported by the various departments of the government, which included the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Ministry of Jalshakti.
The event was largely seen as platform to cultivate a collaborative action plan for India’s journey towards sustainable goal banking on Cement Industry’s track record on adopting and creating sustainable benchmark.
Mr Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry to Jal Shakti who was one of the guests of honour at the conference in day one stated that the cement industry happens to be a critical partner in government’s initiative to eradicate single use plastic and waste known as Samuchit Niptaan.
Following a very stimulating and insightful day one, the second day of the conference started with the session on Waste Management to AFR: fast and last mile prerequisites. Some of the critical points to come up during the discussion pertained to segregation, supply, quality, consistency and logistics of wastes in India.
Mr V K Jindal, the Hon’ble Joint Secretary of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs pointed out the importance of waste segregation without which none of the waste management goals are possible. He put forth the ever increasing and successful initiatives of the government. The takeaway of which has been that in the last 5 years the government has managed to segregate up to 57% of the waste that has been collected which in itself is a big achievement on account of the rising awareness and sense of responsibility, which has been imbibed amongst the societal stakeholders. He also mentioned some of the successful examples of waste segregation and management in the cities of Indore and Vellore.
Mr S Sivasubramanian, Municipal Commissioner of Vellore City Municipal Corporation, who was one of the panellist emphasized on the importance of household waste segregation and the need for community engagement through educational and religious institutions.
Mr Deepak Khetrapal, MD & CEO, Orient Cement Limited felt that the quality and consistency of the waste available to cement industries is very important for effective of waste disposal. Standardization would help industry benchmark and calibrate their production parameters. The panellists also voiced need for updated standardized norms, enabling them to use raw materials like fly ash and slag in larger quantity to create stronger cement with lesser carbon footprint.
This session was followed by the largely anticipated panel on game changers where some of the disruptive innovation for waste utilization and disposal came up. Director and Co-Founder of TrashCon Mr Saurabh Jain showcased his enterprising solution to waste segregation by introducing the TrashBot setup. He was confident that his set up could actually help cement
industry process wastes more efficiently and access Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) with higher calorific value.
With a lot being discussed over the course of one and a half days the conference was wrapped up with the valedictory session which had an attractive line-up of participants. They included the guest of honour Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs along with the President of Cement Manufacturers Association and MD & CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited Mr Mahendra Singhi.
Mr Singhi at the valedictory session reemphasized on the fact that resource conservation and waste utilization was not only the responsible thing to do but the profitable way forward for the cement industry. He signed off stating that a cement may look grey in colour but his industry has ensured that it is green from inside and felt they will achieve more such milestones and benchmarks in the years to come. Concurring to his views the Mr Durga Shanker Mishra, the hon’ble Secretary Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs pointed complimented the Cement Manufacturers Association for being the binding agent for green initiatives and future sustainability goals. Ms Aparna Dutt Sharma, Secretary General, Cement Manufacturers Association closed the conference by thanking the hon’ble guests and cement industry for coming out in full force and retreating the commitment of cement industry towards sustainable green goals.
About CMA:
Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) is the apex body of major cement plants in India. We are the Indian Cement Industry’s consolidated voice on issues such as environment, waste recycling, taxation, logistics and fuel supply among others. The Association has regularly been highlighting issues pertinent to Industry, both at the Central and State governments levels.
