WTERT - India is here

Setting up WTERT - India was an important part of my research. Here we are, ready with WTERT - India, next on agenda are carrying out research on various aspects of SWM with focus on India.

Find the entire Press Release below. We have announced this on www.wtert.org and www.neeri.res.in

In order to address the rising interest, increasing investments and to funnel important decisions related to MSWM in India in the right direction, the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) at Columbia University and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) have decided to set-up Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT) in India and include it in WTERT’s global charter where it would function as India’s window to the world on the entire spectrum of SWM issues. WTERT – India is set-up with the same guiding principle as WTERT’s global charter that “responsible management of wastes must be based on science and best available technology and not on ideology and economics that exclude environmental costs and seem to be inexpensive now but can be very costly in the future”. All sister organizations in WTERT’s global charter understand that solutions vary from region to region and work together towards better waste management around the world. WTERT – India is set-up with the understanding that solutions vary from region to region and is committed to researching locally available technologies. 

Earth Engineering Center, EEC

For nearly two decades, the Earth Engineering Center (EEC) of Columbia University has conducted research on the generation and disposition of used materials and products in the U.S. and globally. This research has engaged many researchers on all aspects of waste management. Since 2000, EEC has produced thirty M.S. and Ph.D. theses and published nearly one hundred technical papers. In 2002, EEC co-founded, with the U.S. Energy Recovery Council (ERC; www.wte.org), the Waste-to-Energy Research and Technology Council (WTERT), which is by now the foremost research organization on the recovery of energy and metals from solid wastes in the U.S. 

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, NEERI

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) headquartered at Nagpur and with five other branches in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai is one of the prime research institutes in India. It is a forerunner in research on solid waste management with dedicated researchers. Research conducted by NEERI in 2005 on MSWM in fifty nine cities is one of the most comprehensive studies on this issue. Other important studies on SWM include India’s Initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the work related to Landfill Gas Use as LNG in transport sector as well as new LFG models development that is under progress with Texas Transportation Institute, US. NEERI has also published a report on Air Emissions Inventory for Mumbai which quantify the pollution due to open burning of wastes. The researchers engaged in solid waste management at NEERI are recognized internationally. 

Global WTERT Council

WTERT – India will be the latest addition to the Global WTERT Council which is already operating in the U.S., Canada, Greece, China, Germany, Japan, Brazil, France, U.K. and Italy. The mission of this council is to identify the best available technologies for the treatment of various waste materials, conduct additional academic research as required, and disseminate this information by means of publications, the WTERT web pages, and periodic meetings. In particular, WTERT strives to increase the global recovery of materials and energy from used solids, by means of recycling, composting, waste-to-energy, and, sanitary landfilling with LFG utilization.