1. ABOUT THE POLICY
A. S. College’ authority realizes sustainable and holistic waste management essential in reducing its environmental footprint and providing a safe and healthy work environment for teaching and non-teaching employees, students, and visitors. To ensure that the college campus wastes are disposed of responsibly by using proper waste segregation mechanism at the source and if possible, converting it into value added environment friendly product. The College campus adopts the principles of the ‘best practicable environmental option’ in the delivery of its waste management services.
2. VISION
The college campus applies a ‘waste hierarchical approach’, to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover waste products in preference to the disposal of waste to landfill, to manage its waste responsibly, reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill and maximize reuse and recycling where possible
3. MISSION
The mission of the policy is to facilitate implementation of the action plan brought out in “National Environment Policy” on management aspects of hazardous waste including their minimization, environmentally sound management and active promotion of transfer and use of cleaner technologies.
4. OBJECTIVES
1. To ensure that waste management is performed in accordance with all waste legislative requirements, including the duty of care, and to plan for future legislative changes and to mitigate their effects.
2. To minimize waste generation at source and facilitate repair, reuse and recycling over the disposal of wastes in a cost effective manner.
3. To provide clearly defined roles and responsibilities to identify and co-ordinate each activity of the waste management.
4. To promote environmental awareness in order to increase and encourage waste minimization, reuse and recycling.
5. To invest into the expansion of recycling opportunities in the College campus and transform waste into value added products.
6. To ensure the safe handling and storage of wastes in college campus.
7. To promote holistic approach of waste management in the campus
5. STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLAN
Environmental sustainability and conservation are important values imbibed as the core principles of AS College Khanna. The college boasts of a dense green campus and abundant biodiversity. AS College has taken several steps towards Waste Management.
A) Solid waste Management
B) Liquid waste Management
C) E-waste Management
A) Solid waste Management
A.S. college has a vermi compost unit. The fallen leaves, plant cuttings etc are used to make compost. All the paper waste is recycled. In the process of recycling, waste is segregated at source. The majority of the plantation on the campus is organically nurtured from the vermi compost produced from the campus's biowaste. Vermi-compost and manure are produced on the campus from the bio-waste of the College as organic nutrients for the plantations.
A.S. College successfully worked out the vermicomposting methods using earthworm species, Esenia foetida. For this purpose, a vermicomposting shed measuring 12feet X 24 feet has been constructed and the biodegradable waste including grass clippings, dried leaves, paper and card board pieces mixed with cow dung is used as a raw material for composting cycles. A nutrient rich liquid fertilizer has also been prepared using vermicompost. The vermicompost produced by this unit is used as an organic fertilizer for the ornamental plants in the college. On a small scale, the extra compost is sold to local community as well. The unit is looked after and maintained by the Department of Biology.
B) Liquid waste Management
The waste water at different points is duly disposed off into the sewage system as per the accepted norms. It is important that this waste does not contaminate the water inlet and drinking water sources hence proper disposal is ensured and no water stagnation is allowed.
A.S. College adheres to a strict protocol of liquid waste disposal in its laboratories. Any glassware used in the laboratory is rinsed with minimum water and placed in the liquid waste container. The liquid waste is segregated into organic and inorganic waste. Inorganic wastes such as concentrated acidic or alkaline solutions are neutralized before disposal. Sodium bicarbonate or Calcium oxide (lime) is used for the neutralization process so that the neutralized liquid contains no harmful substance. The organic waste yield of the College is limited to date and therefore treated with cow dung for decomposition due to the action of microorganisms. Moreover, the sewage effluents are disposed of as per the protocol of the municipal council.
C) E-waste Management: E waste bin has been installed in library and department of computer and application for recycling of electronic waste which prove to be hazard for the environment. There has been a critical endeavour towards E-waste management, ensuring that no discarded computer or electronic components are lying idle in the office premises.
A.S College is trying to achieve the concept of "zero waste" through its belief in the ideology of "reduce-reuse-recycle". A prudent budgeting approach is adopted in what we purchase as a first step towards reducing waste. Over the years, the Institution's recycling scheme has included electronic stationery, various electronics components, laboratory material. Most of these electronics or appliances are often not trash, but simply outdated and traded up for the latest version on the market. E- Waste contains a lot of precious metal such as copper, gold etc. Instead of throwing away the old equipment it should be reused & recycled. Preserving natural resources, reducing greenhouse gas emission& reducing pollution are some of its advantages. The initiative is to aim at reducing the accumulation of used and discarded electronic and electric equipment.
Low-cost technology keeping in the view of maximum resource recovery in environmentally friendly methodologies. E-Parisara, deals with the practical aspects of e-waste processing. So, this scheme of Electronic Waste management Like old and waste CD`s, Pen drives, data cables, old floppies, connectors, Motherboard, crashed hard disk, CD ROM, disk drives, Crashed Part of Laptop, Computer accessories. So, Our College as E-Parisara maintained these types of E-waste dustbins in college Library also.
6. MONITORING AUTHORITY
The responsibilities and organisational arrangements for this Waste Management Policy lie with a variety of personnel within the college Campus.
- Advisory Committee
- Coordinator -Environmental Cell
- HODs
- Supporting Staff
