Environment Ministry wants formal status for recycling industry

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) The Ministry of Environment today called for an end to harassment of recyclers and demanded a formal status for the recycling industry in view of the important part it plays in the conservation of environmental resources.

Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests Pradipto Ghosh said here recyclers were at present facing various legal impediments in carrying on their business, which should be removed.

''This sector, which plays a very important part in saving precious natural resources, needs a formal status,'' he said addressing his last press conference before retiring on May 31.

The recycling sector should be recognised whether by legislation or by any other mechanism. Once it gets a formal status, it will have no difficulty in getting finances for its development, he said.

Studies have revealed that recycling was the only safe way to manage waste sustainably.

Environmentalists have underlined the urgent need to improve the conditions under which recycling takes place in the country.

They have been opposing the move to bring in toxic incinerators and gasifiers in the big cities at the cost of crores of rupees, ignoring the recycling sector.

Waste pickers collect scrap under hazardous conditions as they work without any protective gear.

According to a report these workers, who are harassed and exploited include twenty percent women and 24 per cent children.

They save the municipality 20 per cent of their budget.

The recycling units are dogged by low-level technologies and poor working conditions, which result in low quality of products.

UNI