the goan I network
Touted Goa’s Plastic Man and founder of vRecycle, Clinton Vaz, opined that the new ban on single-use plastics (SUPs) will not affect the livelihoods of rag-pickers who sort out recyclables for a living.
Says Clinton who has been working in the field for almost two decades now: Since the law pertains only to the production of single-use plastic, there will be a lot of packaging that is not under the purview of the law.
“Firstly, the law only looks at a ban on single-use plastics. For that to be implemented, the State will need to have a body issuing fines, ready alternatives to SUPs, and a mindset-change. There will be a long period where SUPs will still be in use despite the ban, so ragpickers will not be affected,” he said.
“Besides, there are many other recyclables that the ragpickers will continue to pick up if the SUP ban is implemented,” he added, elaborating that PET (soft drink) bottles were still going to be produced on the plastic front, and ragpickers would also continue picking up paper and cardboard.
Another reason Clinton felt that the ban will not affect the livelihood of ragpickers is that the ragpicker does not collect plastic and other recyclables based on what law is in force.
“They will only look at the aspect of whether the raw material is recyclable or not. Not at whether it is a SUP or not, or whether it’s banned or not. For the ragpicker, it’s a raw material that’s important and there are enough other materials to compensate for plastic. Waste in general is increasing, especially with online shopping and online take-aways, so the ragpickers will pick up something else,” he said.
Clinton also said that all along, ragpickers have mostly been picking up plastic that has a higher value, as low value plastics are not cost effective for recycling at their level. So their focus is on plastic bottles, hard plastics like pens and shampoo bottles and certain kinds of plastic bags.
“Very few ragpickers focus on plastic bags as you require a large volume of plastic bags to be able to get a few kilos,” he said.
In Panaji, he put the number of ragpickers at approximately 400-500. Speaking about what exactly they had to do for a living, he explained that for the ragpicker to make a living, he/she needed to get the plastic clean and with as little contamination as possible.
“All the plastics they sell need to be free from moisture, and dirt,” he said. This is why very often, ragpickers were forced to leave behind items which were dirty, or had moisture, as they would not get paid fully for these.
“At the end of the day when the large recycler comes to pick up the recyclables from the ragpickers, he deducts a percentage of pay for moist/dirty plastic,” Clinton explained. This is why ragpickers also do not pick up mixed waste, he said stressing on the need for individuals to make sure their recyclables were clean at the time of discarding.
The State of Goa does not have a system specifically in place for recycling of plastic. The environmentalist however said that in the waste collection system, there was an unofficial system for the recycling of plastic that was working. This is because of the drivers and municipality staff who pulled out recyclables from other waste and sold them.
A couple of years ago when Clinton was called as a consultant for the Corporation of the City of Panjim, he and a team helped set up a system for recycling that is now in place.
For this, they brought on board ragpickers, who were asked to come to a centralised location. Two-three sheds were set up where ragpickers could sort out waste given to them by the CCP. One such shed is functioning in St Inez. In this way, the CCP reduces the waste being generated.
When asked about other parts of the State, Clinton said that most municipalities were undertaking some form of dry waste processing where recyclables are taken out. Most panchayats send waste to three locations in Goa where recyclables are removed unofficially.
Clinton concludes by reminding us that as people who’re generating waste, the waste belongs to us, and we can choose to whom we want to give it to. We do not necessarily have to give our waste to the municipality if we choose not to.
The important thing though is to think of using re-usable products instead of recyclable products, to lessen the burden on the environment.
