The best way to solve environmental problems caused by consumer generated waste is for towns and cities to impose strict limits on the amount of trash they will accept from each household

Thanks to the population explosion and the advent of myriad FMCG products, the last few decades have witnessed an enormous increase in consumer-generated waste in towns and cities. The statement contends that the best method to solve environmental problems caused by such waste for towns and cities is to impose stringent limits on the quantity of trash the council will accept from every household. While the policy will raise concerns and accountability among citizens for the waste they generate, it might prove to be impractical and counterproductive. Moreover, solving environmental problems arising out of user-generated wastes needs a holistic approach as appose to formulating a single policy.

One of the biggest reasons for an abated generation of waste from households is a lack of concern and accountability among citizens for they believe no matter how much waste they generate the council trash truck is there to relieve them every morning. Imposing a limit on waste collection would force them to review their household consumptions and fix accountability for injudicious use of products and waste generation. However, beyond this benefit, the policy may have ramifications and lacks pragmatism.

The fundamental argument against the policy is the fact that: while the problem is about waste generation, the policy proposes to reduce waste collection. Enforcing such a policy may not necessarily reduce waste generation. Without proper waste collection service, people may resort to other detrimental ways for disposal. One can see public trash cans over flooding with household garbage on every nook and corner of the city. People may dispose waste in remote and abandoned areas or may store them in households resulting in pollution and unhygienic conditions. Unprocessed waste, such as, used batteries or sanitary napkins may result in greater environmental damage than that processed by the council.

Furthermore, such a uniform policy of limiting the waste collection from each household overlooks some practical points. Firstly, number and type of individuals vary from house to house. The policy doesn’t discriminate based on the size of the family and the type of waste they generate before fixing a limit. A larger family is bound to generate more waste than an elderly couple. Then, a large amount of recyclable waste is not as bad as a slightly lower quantity of non-recyclable ones. In such a scenario, bigger families may also start practising unfair means such as exchanging waste with smaller families for some cash.

The best way to mitigate the environmental damage would be to follow ‘The Waste Hierarchy’ principle outlined by European Commission which delineates steps for waste management in the given order: prevention, reduction, reuse, recycle, energy recovery and disposal. Firstly, FMCG industries must be encouraged with tax incentives to minimize extra packing and to use recyclable environmentally benign material for packaging. Then, citizens must be educated about the seriousness of the menace caused by consumer-generated waste. They must be taught about the practises they can adopt to reduce waste generation without affecting their consumptions. Purchasing groceries in bulk to avoid excess packaging, donating used books and clothes to charities, using canvas bog for shopping, etc are some good examples. Finally, the city council must ensure proper utilization of appropriate waste disposal equipments such as incinerators with air pollution control devices, landfills, etc. They can even use modern technology to recover energy from waste through anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis, gasification, etc.

In conclusion, while the policy to limit the collection of consumer-generated waste could fix accountability on citizens for waste generation, it cannot suffice for waste mitigation and may even prove counter-productive. It can further impose some practical limitations in ensuring its fair and effective implementation. The best way to solve consumer-waste generated environmental problems calls for the holistic approach of prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling and disposal of waste involving corporate, public and council participation.