India : The Global Destination of Toxic Wastes
Ruhul Amin
Few years back the news of Pepsi Cola Company exporting plastic wastes
from the United States to India sent a shock wave to many Indians
including admirers and fans of the Cola drink "Yehi Hai Right Choice
Baby!" Subsequently, it was revealed that only in 1993-'94 Pepsico has
exported 23 shipments of used plastic bottles weighing 4500 tons to
Futura Industries, a Company in Tiruvellore, Tamil Nadu in the name of
recycling. It is a well known fact that the PET bottles used by the
Cola giants are not fit for recycling and more than 50% of the
consignment was of such non-recyclable containers which amounts to
more than 2000 tons of plastic waste, which was dumped in India in one
year only.
The recipient company is doubly blessed. It gets huge amounts of money
from the US counterpart vis a vis sales of unhygienic, used bottles in
the Indian market.
The law of waste disposal is stringent in `Gods Own Countries'— USA
and Europe. It is a costly affair also. In the USA, in 1980 the cost
of waste disposal was $.15 per ton which grew to $250 per ton in 1989
and further to $600 per ton in 2001. The consumerist life style of the
US and European citizens produce huge amounts of waste products which
they cannot detoxify or handle. The gravity of the problem can be
judged by the information that even NASA has undertaken a project to
dump the waste products in space! But is it not much cheaper and wise
to export the hazardous toxic materials to Asia and Africa in the name
of business and economic growth? That is exactly what the imperialists
are doing. The poor third world countries have become their trash
bins.
In Los Angeles of USA, the Cola giants (Coke and Pepsi) made a joint
venture company (a perfect example of corporate cooperation!) named
Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC) which channels
these used bottles to Asia and earns millions of dollars.
The brunt of the burden of pollution rising out of the utterly
extravagant lifestyle of the western world is being transferred to the
shoulders of our poor countrymen! The multinational and transnational
companies, with the help of the collaborators from within, are
polluting, looting, molesting, raping and destroying our environment
day in and day out. Our forests are virtually gone, the 7000 km
coastline is fast becoming a toxic soup and its aquifers so poisoned
with industrial and agricultural contaminants that much of the
portable water could actually be treated as poison.
More than half of the flood irrigated soils of Punjab, Haryana and
western Uttar Pradesh have begun to go fallow, thanks to the
uncontrolled application of water, pesticides, herbicides, weedicides
and fertilizers in the name of green revolution. Rampant lifting of
ground water, deforestation and soil erosion vis-a-vis silting of the
main river beds are slowly turning the once rice bowl into a salty,
barren stretch of land. Out of 329 million hectare cultivable land 175
million hectares (55%) is polluted. Each year 1.5 million hectares of
forest land is being denuded. Acid rain has occurred in some parts of
the country. The air in cities is unbreathable and drinking water is
contaminated with fecal matter. As a result, summer and monsoons are
punctuated by recurrent out breaks of communicable water borne
diseases leading to epidemics. Even human breast milk in parts of
Punjab is so contaminated by D.D.T that if it were to be bottled, the
health department would be compelled to confiscate the stock.
Apart from the criminal desecration of our natural resources which has
seriously affected the very survival of nearly 4 crores of fisher
folk, 6 crore of forest dependent people and over 15 crores of
marginal farmers our nation has been the safe heaven of dumping
plastic, PVC, metallic scrap (copper, iron and lead), used computer
parts, ash and residue wastes and even cowdung and pig droppings
(under the fashionable name of enviro dung).
The imperialists, like the United States, UK, Germany and Australia,
have chosen to cold bloodedly poison India's coastal water, lakes,
aquifers, rivers, soil and people.
Plastic and P.C.V
The plastic industry has been facing growing unpopularity in the US as
consumers' awareness about the harmful sale of plastic packaging in
the waste problem and in the large environmental problem has
increased. So much so that the industry has felt the need to lauch a
multi-million dollar campaign in the USA to convince people about the
re cyclability and harmlessness of plastic.
As already stated, the Pepsi Cola Company (which has shifted from
clear, safe, reusable glass bottles to disposable plastic to make more
money) is spreading the myth of recycling of PET (Polyethylene
Tetraphthalate) bottles. Millions of used plastic bottles are exported
to Asia. Some of them are reprocessed, some burned and some simply
dumped. Exporting of plastic, relocating the production process itself
to an underdeveloped country and spreading myths about recycling are
easy ways of getting rid of problematic waste cheaply while making
consumers at home feel good about using plastic.
In its new strategy, the Pepsi Cola Company along with Indian Oil
Chemical Limited (IOCL) has set up a Rs. 75 crore project to
manufacture PET bottles in Chennai. The capacity of the factory is 20,
000 tpa of polyester chips and 3500 tons of PET bottles. These bottles
are exported to the USA and Europe and returned back to India. Since
plastic damages the environment both during production and during
disposal, India is doubly cursed by this. This is a classic example of
a toxic industry being shifted to a less industrialized country to
avoid strict environmental and labor laws at home and, of course, to
avoid investing in clear production in the first place.
As already stated, Future Industries in Tiruvellore, Tamil Nadu acts
as the local crony of the Cola giant. This company has imported more
than 25,000 tons of plastic which are grossly contaminated, filthy and
beyond the scope of recycling. The work is done by casual workers with
a meager payment of Rs. 20/- per day and they are exposed to all types
of toxic assaults on their health.
Plastic contains highly toxic chemicals like Benzene and Vinyl
chloride known to cause cancer. There are also gaseous and liquid
hydrocarbons which pollute air and water. Plastic resins are highly
inflammable.
Chemicals emitted during its production are very toxic e.g. Ethylene
Oxide, Benzene, Xylene etc. These cause immense damage to the nervous
system, kidneys, blood, immune system and child birth.
Plastic in not bio degradable. Incineration leads to release of
Dioxin— the most toxic substance science has ever known.
50 micro gram (1000th. the part of a gram) of dioxin can kill 50,000
mice.
On the other hand recycling of plastic bottles is highly uneconomical,
dirty and labor intensive. It is associated with skin and respiratory
problems due to contact with toxic fumes. Let us put a simple
question. If recycling is safe why it has been relocated in the poor
countries?
Chlorine is another highly toxic gas released by the plastic and PCV
industry. It causes cancer of colon and urinary bladder. It is
deposited in body fat and causes infertility, hormonal disturbances
and nervous disorders.
Waste Imports into India
Year Weight
[in kg]
Australia
Plastic waste 1990 3,000
Plastic waste 1992 16,000
Plastic waste Jan-Sept. 1993 74,000
Metal waste (other than lead) 1992 33,621,000
Lead battery waste 1992 126,000
Lead battery waste Jan-Sept. 1993 346,000
Canada
Copper and copper alloy wastes 1992 960,371
Ash and residues 1992 1,226,455
Lead waste 1992 1,007,897
Ferrous waste, iron or steel, 1992 106,005,000
Non-ferrous waste 1992 90,330
Plastic and polystyrene waste 1992 42,275
(these figures do not include waste exported from Canada via the US)
United Kingdom
Ash and residue waste Jan-July 1992 524,652
Copper waste Jan-July 1992 2,443,578
Other metal waste Jan-July 1992 719,172
Ash and residue waste Jan-May 1993 250,056
Copper wastes Jan-May 1993 2,575,413
Lead wastes Jan-May 1993 501,944
Other metal waste Jan-May 1993 1,120,608
United States
Plastic waste Jan-July 1992 3,974,700
Plastic waste 1993 7,841,800
Scrap metal 1990 1,794,011,000
Tin plate waste and tin waste 1993 26,802,360
Source: Greenpeace [1993]
Metal Scraps
These can come in a large variety of forms, from very low grade ashes
and residues to relatively high grade pieces of waste metals. Metal
processing wastes are generated by smelting of iron, steel, copper,
zinc, lead and aluminum. Smelting wastes often contain highly toxic
concentrations of arsenic, lead, cadmium and cobalt. Arsenic oxide,
lead and Cadmium are carcinogenic. They interfere in the nervous,
reproductive and digestive systems and also hamper plant growth.
The metal scraps remain in the environment for a very long time. Lead
is a very stable metal and is very toxic to plant, animal and human
body, resulting in pernicious anemia, recurrent gastro-intestinal
upsets, peripheral neuropathy, dermatitis, renal failure and
infertility. It is confirmed carcinogen. Even small amounts of lead
lowers intelligence level in children, resulting in reading disorders,
psychological disturbances and mental retardation.
Very often the toxic metal scraps, ash and residues have a life span
that is much larger than the containers and dumpsites built to hold
them. These wastes in such cases, corrodes or seeps through and
emerges either through food chains from the soil to plant and
vegetation taken in by man and animal (polluting meat & dairy
products), through ground water to reservoirs and drinking water
systems and even through air.
Destination: Asia
India, along with the Philippines, Hongkong, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and Malayasia are the global destination of waste
products.
Chlorine, plastic and lead smelting industries have shut down in the
western world due to public protest. These monstrous industries have
shifted to Asia.
NASA along with 6 other giant companies (like Boeing, Gen Vinamix,
Lockheed etc) has set up Conduct and Commercial Space Transport Study
(CSTS) the aim of which is to dump wastes in the moon. Presently $3
million is being spent for research on this.
Through the 1980s Africa was regarded as the easy dumping ground for
all hazardous wastes— industrial, pharmaceutical, radioactive along
with banned pesticides and toxic incinerator ash, against cash. But in
1991 (29th January) the Bamako Convention of all the African slates
adopted on Africa wide ban on waste import.
The Nigerian coast was the dustbin of Italy. It is shown than in 1990,
98% of the 40 crore tons of toxic wastes came from 40 industrialized
nations which are grouped together as the Organ for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD)— actually a mantle for the
imperialists. The main objective was to transport these hazardous
materials to `non OECD' poor countries. Of the OECD countries, the
main waste exporters were US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan,
Netherlands and Austria who got furious by the Bamako Ban, threatened
the participating nations with `dire' consequences, withdraw at of
funds and tried to split the unity by hectic lobbying, bribing and
brow-beating behind the screen.
In spite of the pressure of these imperialists by 1993, a total of 101
countries from Africa, Latin America Caribbean islands and Pacific
islands singed the historical `Basel Ban' manifesto imposing a blanket
ban on Trans boundary Movement of Hazardous waste and their disposal.
Since then, the toxic wastes in the form of thousands of tons of
plastic, lead scrap, & computer waste found their new destination in
Asia, particularly south east Asia.
During 1992, 15% of the wastes from USA sailed to India. The amount
jumped to 83% in 1993.
From January to July, 1993 the waste dumping increased by 97.3% in
India, 125% in Pakistan and 37% in Bangladesh. This dumping
appreciably fell in African countries.
The lead Astray
All of the worlds' motor vehicles contain lead batteries which the
rich countries consume at an alarming rate. USA, UK and Australia are
the main sources of such huge amount of used lead batteries to Asia,
particularly India. The sulfuric acid mixes up with water bodies and
lead ash contaminates the air. The used lead battery waste is mainly
imported from Australia through Mumbai and Kolkata ports exposing our
population to the risk of heavy metal poisoning. Our people are
serving a death sentence for the heinous crime committed by the
imperialists and their agents within the country.
Other types of Metallic wastes
l Ferrous waste (from iron & steel foundry)
l Copper and copper alloy wastes
l Tin plate wastes
l Zinc and aluminum wastes
l Arsenic oxide and cadmium wastes
Techno junks
As if this is not enough, India is the favored destination for used
computer parts. More than 5 million computers are scrapped every year
and the US is already exporting thousands of tons of such `techno
junk' to India, China and the Philippines. Workers usually strip the
cables for copper wire and the remaining wastes are either burned or
stockpiled. Burning of computer key boards produces brominated dioxins
which has already been mentioned considering the rapid depreciation of
computer hard wares and rapid turnover the computer wastes already
pose a serious problem.
Enviro dung
The RSS-Sangh Parivar may be happy to know that we are also planning
to import cow dung (along with pig droppings) from Netherlands, in the
name of bio fertilizer. Actually this dung causes environmental
disaster.
In the attractive package of nature friendly fertilizer, we are
getting excreta from animals fed on fodder heavily impregnated with
chemicals. Since Netherlands is bellow sea level, there is chance of
contamination of sea water by seepage of animal dropping. Hence,
Holland wants to export it even free of cost. A shipload of such
chemically impregnated toxic organic residues were sent to countries
of Latin America causing a great uproar and public outcry.
Since then India has been targeted even though it has a large
livestock (almost 200 million) population. An Indian Company EID
Parry, in collaboration with a Dutch company Seaswan B. V. planned to
import 6 million tons dung every year from Holland to Kandla port. Due
to huge farmers' protests the project has temporarily been suspended
but it may resurface any day banking on the liberal import policy of
the government which is actually a running dog of the imperialists.
Ship Dismantling Industry
The extremely hazardous ship wrecking industry has been transferred to
India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Ship dismantling
is banned in the USA and Europe as during destruction it emits huge
amount of toxic products. Moreover enormous human cost is involved in
the form of loss of lives of workers and health hazards to the people
of the port area.
Almost 20 years back, a gigantic yard and dry dock was founded at
Alang, on the Bhavnagar Coast, by the Gujrat Maritime Board (GMB)
which dismantles ship at an insignificant cost. Frequent accidents,
injuries and explosions kill the contractual casual laborers off and
on. Moreover highly toxic materials like Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl
(PCB) and asbestos wastes contaminates air, water and soil to persist
in the food chain for decades. The project has a workforce of 40,000
(who earn Rs. 40 to 50 only for a 12 hours a day) and the annual
turnover is Rs. 2000 crores. GMB has hired 183 plots to lodge 200
discarded ships at a time and the whole project is stretched over a 10
km. patch on Bhavnagar Coast.
Almost 2000 workers suffer injuries every year. Skin diseases,
pneumonia, asthma are rampant due to burning huge amount of solid
wastes like broken pipes, asbestos, foam, rubber sheets, glass wools
etc.
Alang is a hell on earth with 5 lack people. This ship breaking
industry serves the purpose of the US Navy and commercial liners. It
is also a golden goose for the Government in the form of sales tax,
customs duty & central exercise. It is a fortune for compradors who
earn from the shipping companies on the one hand and also gets cheap
steel scraps (3.2 million tons in 2000-2001)on the other.
Conclusion
India is a signatory to the declaration banning the import of toxic
wastes. Still then, most of the anti-pollution rhetoric on the part of
the government is only to dupe the people.
The government is reluctant to take any tough stand, that may make its
imperialist masters happy. Environment and peoples' health is not an
issue for them. Even after 20 years of the Bhopal gas leak, which left
almost 30,000 dead and 6 lacs diseased, no justice has been meted
towards the victims. Only 1.07 lacs affected person have received Rs.
20,000 to Rs. 50,000/- only— an excuse for a compensation. Several
times the government tried to withdraw cases against the culprits and
has agreed in an out of court settlement for a meager compensation for
the offending company. In this backdrop, we cannot expect this
comprador administration to stand up against the imperialist plot of
allowing our people to live a healthy life. We must unite, must be
vigilant and must force them to scrap such a heinous blue print of
poisoning our land and people.
