BANGALORE: The Zero Waste Society of India, located on the Indian Institute of Science campus, is coming up with Clean Campus-Green Campus (CCGC), an initiative to prevent the ill effects caused by the disposal of biochemical wastes generated mainly by laboratories in science and engineering colleges in the city and create awareness about it among the people. The municipal authority as well as the government are keen in bringing regulations and laws to keep a tab on the industrial effluents,e-waste and the bio-medical waste. However, there seems to be no specific rules and guidelines yet for proper disposal of biochemical wastes like acids, bases, salts, organic solvents and enzymes generated by laboratories in educational institutions.Bangalore city alone has about 21 government colleges, 44 private-aided colleges and about 80 engineering colleges which generally have either small or big laboratories. Speaking to Express, Dr J R Mudakavi, Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IISc, and General Secretary to Zero Waste Society of India, said, “A college of about 600 students doing an acid-base titration of 100 ml each produces about 120 litres of chemical waste per day. With the usage of floor washing chemicals the figure runs into thousands of litres per month.”“In order to take forward this CCGC programme, we would be approaching the college managements and explain them the impact of unscientific method of biochemical wastes disposal. Once the colleges approve, we will be organising a seminar for students,” he said.Relating to the information which would be disseminated during the seminar, Mudakavi said, “Minimising the usage of chemical wastes, ways to remodel the experiments in miniature size and if the wastes are hazardous, they will have to be stored and transported to Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility (HWTF) available, would be included.”“We have approached PESIT and RVCE. They have welcomed our decision. We are planning to approach all colleges in the city which have more than 1,000 students,” he said.Dr K R Venugopal, Principal, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), said, “There are no such specific regulations. We have just a small chemistry laboratory and there are very less activities going on here”However, when it comes to health hazards related to unscientific method of biochemical disposal, Dr Dwijendra Prasad, Consultant, Internal Medicine, BGS Global Hospitals said, “When all these chemicals get into the soil, they contaminate the ground water which indirectly causes brain disorder, skin ailments and weakening of bones.”Meanwhile, when contacted, A S Sadashivaiah, Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) said, “All the major laboratories are covered and regulated by the board. They have a specific mechanism for disposal of e-waste, but we do not have any consent for small laboratories and bio-chemical wastes.”
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