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‘Plastic-free’ Hornbill Festival remains mere slogan
KOHIMA — The Hornbill Festival, which is supposed to be ‘plastic-free,’ generates an alarming amount of waste, according to a report.
A first-of-its-kind ‘Study of solid waste, ambient air quality, and ambient noise quality during Hornbill Festival 2023′ was conducted by the Nagaland Pollution Control Board (NPCB) at Kisama Heritage Village.
The NPCB report, recently made available and accessed by Eastern Mirror, revealed concerning details of waste generation during the festival.
In 2023 alone, it collected a total volume of 22,480.1 kg of solid waste at Kisama Heritage Village—taking collection trips as many as 41.5 times via pick-up truck.
The ‘disposable plates and cutleries’ category of waste was the largest contributor, totalling 6,896.18 kg. This is followed by ‘organic waste’ at 5,609.37 kg and ‘food waste’ at 4,038.47 kg. Other contributors include ‘PET bottles,’ which accounted for 1430.45 kg, and ‘SUPs (Single Use Plastics),’ generating 683.02 kg.
“With a total number of 17 morungs and about 100 stalls in and around the venue, a substantial portion of the waste at the Hornbill Festival has been contributed by the volume of disposable plates and cups and food waste,” the NPCB observed.
Waste generation on the first day of the festival was comparatively lesser, with 763.51 kg being collected. However, it increased fourfold on other days, with the highest waste generation recorded on the ninth day: 3681.37 kg of waste.
The collected segregated waste was handed over to the Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) for disposal, recycling, and recovery.
Meanwhile, the NPCB team recovered poorly disposed medical syringes from the heap of waste on two occasions. It advised better bio-medical waste management to prevent the possible spread of infection among sanitation workers in the future.
There was also a prevalence of stray waste in and around the venue left uncollected in different locations on the final day of the festival, it informed.
Why the study on waste?
The chairman of NPCB, Rusovil John, remarked, “Festivals are integral to our cultural heritage, fostering community spirit and celebration. However, they often generate substantial amounts of solid waste, posing significant environmental challenges. Recognising this, our organisation embarked on a rigorous examination of the waste management practices at the Hornbill Festival with the aim of understanding the extent of the problem and identifying actionable solutions.”
According to the NPCB, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has made it necessary for the board to carry out assessments in order to check the potential hazards inefficient waste management can cause to the environment.
Prior to the NPCB initiative, no study was carried out with regard to air, noise, and solid waste management during the Hornbill Festival.
Violation of SWM Rules
The study further observed non-compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 during the Hornbill Festival.
As per SWM Rules, every waste generator should segregate and store the waste generated in three separate streams, namely bio‐degradable, non‐bio‐degradable, and domestic hazardous wastes, in suitable bins and hand over segregated wastes to authorised ragpickers or waste collectors. But the NPCB study revealed that no segregation at source was done.
Burning of waste at the venue was sighted despite the rules mandating that no waste generator will throw, burn, or bury the solid waste on streets, open public spaces, outside his/her premises, or in the drain or water bodies. Open dumping was also observed.
Again, in contravention of the rules, vehicles transporting waste to processing or disposal facilities were not covered.
The NPCB stated that segregated biodegradable waste is unloaded at the KMC dumping site. Whereas the rules mandate that biodegradable waste should be inserted and preferably reused after processing.
Way forward
The study found out that biodegradable waste (organic waste and food waste) accounted for a total of 9647.84 kg.
The board recommended composting of wet waste at the venue, which itself would cut down a lot of costs on the transportation of waste to a dumpsite.
It also laid emphasis on segregating waste from the source and encouraged the provision of two separate bins for wet and dry waste, which should be practiced by all the stalls and morungs.
The NPCB further suggested that organisers should establish rules to prohibit non-biodegradable items at the venue. By encouraging food stall owners to opt for biodegradable or reusable cutlery options like bamboo steel cups, plates, etc., the volume of disposable plates and cups waste can be controlled to a significant percentage, it stated.
“Efforts must be made to increase the awareness of attendees about waste prevention, reduction, and recycling measures; to develop guidelines and methods to quantify the waste prevention measures; and to formulate policies aimed at increasing the application of the zero-waste principle,” it suggested.
The department of Tourism on several occasions, during coordination meetings, has urged the stakeholders to opt for a ‘plastic-free’ Hornbill festival. But that implementation on the ground has been challenging so far.
Also read: Nagaland gears up for grand 25th Hornbill Festival