Kattankulathur: “Nearly one lakh tons of waste is generated in a day and 62 million tons per annum. Of which only 20 percent is recycled and the rest goes as landfills,” said former Secretary to Government of India, Santha Sheela Nair at the exhibition cum industry-academia meet on Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship that was held at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur.
This exhibition cum industry-academia meet was organized as part of introducing MBA course on Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship at SRMIST in association with Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE), a unit of MHRD. SRMIST is the first among 15 institutions in India to introduce this course. A handout of the exhibition was also released on the occasion.
Previously, Founder Chancellor of SRMIST, Dr. T.R. Paarivendhar, MP, released books on Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship duly edited by a panel of members from MGNCRE. The books consisting of six parts, are a compilation of various waste management programs done by several social activists and entrepreneurs.
Addressing the gathering at the event Santha said, “While in office, I dreamed about educational institutions offering a course on waste management. Now SRMIST has made it a reality.”
“We can classify waste into different categories and recycling waste alone has 22 categories. Biomedical waste offers huge business potential. Similarly industrial waste, compostable waste, and human secretion also has good business opportunities,” she said and added, “There have been instances where garbage has been converted into energy and we should also look into such prospective.”
“During my tenure with Metrowater, the biggest problem that I faced was disposing human waste. The best way of disposing it, is to dehydrate it instead of rehydrate. Hence there is a huge need for a proper technology to solve faecal sludge management,” she said.
“Eco-sanitation toilets and rainwater harvesting should be taught as subjects in school. At the same time, students should also realize that there is a huge market for recycled products. Waste is not just a wealth but a movement,” she concluded.
“Waste also affects the GDP of a country. Therefore the future of our country is in our hands. Now the waste we generate is substantial and when we grow, the associated waste will also grow with us, therefore it is important to manage it. This should not be seen as a problem but we should learn to live with it and manage it. The important aspect is trying to solve it at the source,” said M Nanda Kumar, MD, EDAC Engineering Ltd, and Convener – FICCI TNSC- Energy Panel.
Vice-Chancellor of SRMIST, Dr. Sandeep Sancheti said, “SRMIST is now offering MBA in Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship, and we are planning to start an UG program in rural management. We should teach students and promote better and healthy living, this will be a big driving force in the development of our nation.” He then urged students to choose their own domain and start working on it.
Dean, Faculty of Management, SRMIST, Dr. VM Ponniah said, “Waste is getting acculturated due to various reasons and this cannot be changed. Therefore we are introducing this course so that students can aid in managing this waste in future. This is a small step in this direction.”
An overview of the event was presented by Dean, Center for Environmental Nuclear Research SRMIST, Dr. Kantha D Arunachalam.
Also present on the occasion were MGNCRE Senior Faculty, SC Naveen Kumar; Pro Vice Chancellor P&D Dr TP Ganesan; Nodal officer, Swachchata Action Plan SRMIST, Dr Rajan Patil; Director – Corporate Relations SRMIST, Dr. S Ganapathy and Associate Director (CL) SRMIST, Dr. V Thirumurugan.
