Minister for Tourism Tassaduq Hussain Mufti stressed for taking innovative measures for zero waste tourist spots, besides sensitizing masses towards waste management and waste segregation.The Minister was chairing a meeting of experts regarding various waste management issues in the State and methods needed to be adopted for tourism sustainability.Scientist, In-charge E-waste & MSW, Pollution Control Board, Jammu Anuradha presented a comprehensive presentation in this regard.She apprised the Minister that solid waste management is a serious issue and with the notification of revised Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for the first time responsibility has been laid upon Bulk waste generators, which include government buildings, public sector, hotels, and hospitals homes, educational institutes commercial establishments, markets, places of worship, stadia and sport complexes.It was given out that the waste generators shall store the waste generated at source in three different streams, viz., bio-degradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous wastes in suitable bins and ensure its channelization to authorized waste pickers, registered recyclers or waste collection agencies and bulk waste generators.Tassaduq Mufti stressed for taking adequate measures to aware people not to litter or burn the waste on streets, open public places, drains or nallahs, besides collection of horticulture, parks and garden waste separately within parks and gardens.Seeking suggestion and possibilities of composting waste, the Minister was appraised that manual waste composting may be carried out in a pit or bin and composting bags which is suitable for small parks and gardens with upto 20 kg of bio-degradable waste generation per day.
It was given out that there is possibility of establishing parallel trenches alongside edges of parks to combat transportation problem and open composting may also be carried out without any infrastructure and the composting media may be preferably, cow dung or bacterial cultures in absence of cow dung.The Minister was informed that composting tanks known as NADEP tanks and composting bags for medium to large scale parks and gardens with the bio-degradable fraction of waste up to 50 kg per can be increased as per requirement.It was given out that besides manual composition there are various mechanical composting procedures including Bio-composters, Organic waste convertors of varying capacities and one such machine is already in operation as pilot project by J&K SPCB.He was informed that Bio-composters can provide an ideal solution at tourist places.It was given out that mechanical shredder is the prerequisite to carry out any type of garden waste composting, particularly in medium to large gardens owing to large size of specific garden waste.The Minister urged for taking concrete measures to minimize waste production at the source, besides stressing for checking the use of polythene carry bags and other disposables at all tourist places as these are non-recyclable besides being major source of waste generation .He also urged for proper liquid waste management at tourist places , besides taking measures to sensitize the people visiting tourist places about the sanitation and the flora and fauna of the place. Representatives from Pollution Control Board and other concerned officers were also present in the meeting.