Ganga facing massive plastic pollution - Namami Gange and Swachh Bharat unsuccessful

Microplastics in river Ganga are widespread, and indicate a failure of government schemes intended to clean the river.

 Ganga facing massive plastic pollution - Namami Gange and Swachh Bharat unsuccessful

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• The story: A recent analysis of the stretches of the river Ganga by Delhi-based environment NGO Toxics Link has revealed pollution by microplastics. The scenario is quite worrisome, especially in light of the fact that two major central programmes - Namami Gange and Swachh Bharat - have been running for some years now.
• Microplastics: These are synthetic solid particles sized ranging 1 micrometre (μm) to 5 millimetre (mm), and are insoluble in water. Microplastics are recognised as a major source of marine pollution, and major sources are (i) untreated sewage from many cities along the river’s course,  (ii) industrial waste, (iii) religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics. The plastic products and waste materials released or dumped in the river are eventually broken down into micro particles. The river finally transports large quantities downstream into the ocean which gets to be the ultimate sink of all plastics being used by humans. There are huge 'garbage patches' in oceans now.
• Learning: The present study was titled ‘Quantitative analysis of Microplastics along River Ganga’, and was based on an analysis of water samples at Haridwar, Kanpur and Varanasi. The highest concentration of microplastics was found at Varanasi, comprising single-use and secondary broken-down plastics from articles of everyday use. These included tyres, clothing, food packaging, bags, cosmetics with microbeads, garland covers and other municipal waste. The sample test results showed the presence of at least 40 different kinds of polymers as microplastics.

1. The shapes and nature of the observed resins ranged from fibres to fragments, films and beads. Fragments were the predominant shape in all locations, followed by film and fibre. Microbeads were observed in Varanasi and Kanpur, while no beads were found in Haridwar.
2. The most frequent size range observed in all the samples was <300µm. Previous studies say that over 663 marine species are affected adversely due to marine debris. 11% of them are said to be affected due to microplastic ingestion alone.
3. The study results seriously question the progress of two high-priority, well-funded government missions - (i) The Swachh Bharat, to deal with solid waste, and (ii) Namami Gange, to rid the Ganga river of its pollution
4. Microplastics are flowing all along into the river system. This suggests a direct linkage between the poor state of both solid and liquid waste management. Official data indicate that 97 Ganga towns may be discharging about 750 million litres of untreated sewage a day into the river.

• Greater concern: Microplastics are omni-present now, and are found at the Mount Everest, Arctic snow, Icelandic glaciers, the French Pyrenees, and the depths of the Mariana Trench, among others. They pose a serious hazard as plastics waste production outpaces governments’ capacity to collect and manage it,given the limits with recycling. The waste management rules issued by successive governments fall short at the implementation level, though they sound excellent in theory. The Centre issued a draft to tighten the Plastic Waste Management Rules, but Indian cities have failed to implement existing rules as well as the Solid Waste Management rules. Tens of cities pump untreated waste into Ganga daily.
• What to do now: 'Swachh Bharat' must mean not merely keeping waste out of sight, achieved through costly dumping contracts, but also sharply reduced waste generation, full segregation and recycling. Plastic waste around the world is threatening the food web, and thus demands a new global treaty modelled on the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement. India needs to demonstrate that it is serious about a clean-up at the domestic level. Improving plastic waste management and the subsequent reduction in microplastic pollution should be the priority. Various stakeholders, including industry, the government and civil society organisations, need to join hands.
• Summary: A national rejuvenation is now needed, to end this menace. 

 

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