Mountains of Garbage: India’s Neglected Waste Management Crisis to Be Treated by Biomining

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At a time when the government is pushing for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the piling mountains of Garbage visible at a distance in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai only highlights the magnitude of India’s garbage problem. Mr. Satinder Chawla shares his view on how the methane released from these dumps can be a potential fire hazard. Quite like what had happened in Delhi’s largest landfill that had caught fire. He further points out that India has seen a rising tide of waste that’s disposed of in open dumps which is further crossing the permissible height that is laid down by the environment ministry. Mr. Chawla feels that these landfills also over time become a breeding ground for serious diseases and something must be done so that the situation does not get out of hand. From his side, his brand Span Floors solely promotes products that do not harm the ecological balance of our earth. He is a replenisher of environmental resources and is conscious about how their company manages their sourcing while providing notable high-quality wood flooring.
 
As regards the growing waste management issue, there is a silver lining. After years of struggle by residents, Tambaram Municipality administration has planned to clear the Kannadapalayam dump yard using the biomining method. The civic body has swapped to the new technology, which representatives believe is much more effectual and the land would return to its original form. Biomining is a popular solution adopted by various countries abroad for large landfills; it is absolutely a zero-emission process where the dump hills can be cleared. It sounds hi-tech, but it’s presently used to yield about 5% of the world’s gold and 20% of the world’s copper. It’s also used to a smaller extent to abstract nickel, zinc, cobalt and rare earth elements. But perhaps its most exciting potential is mining rare earth elements, which are crucial in everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology. Mumbai seems to be going the Biomining way too as recently reported.
 
But, whereas global giants and companies are taking responsibility in this area, even we can make a difference and make sure we create and dispose waste responsibly. With shrinking space for garbage landfills in the country, there is a responsibility that we have towards earth. Accordingly, all products including wood floorings should be designed for longer lifespans and attention should be paid towards safety during the end of life, disposal stage. At Span Floors the materials sourced are selected based on strict requirements for ecological safety and are tested for environmental impact.
 
There are companies that are still struggling to implement sustainability in terms of their produce. Span Floors, however, since the time of its inception, weaved the sustainability model craftily within its business model. Mr. Chawla strongly believes in a clean and a sustainably balanced future for the coming generations.
 
He concludes, “There is no better way of emphasizing our care for the planet than by paying due attention to the impact of the product at the end of life stage, particularly the impact on waste management. As a reputable brand name, we carefully look into this aspect too while designing our product portfolio. After all, investing in the country’s and the planet’s future is the best way to ensure long-term survival for all concerned.