Page 55 - CIJ Feb 2025 - Digital Edition

WASTE MANAGEMENT

amount, create 25lt of solution,
which is then applied to the stubble. From converting crop residue into
This process helps degrade the compost and furniture to developing packaging
stubble down to its roots, enriching
the soil and producing organic solutions and particle boards, the emerging
manure that can be sold. innovations are showing that stubble burning
The Indian Agricultural Research does not have to be the default solution. These
Institute (IARI) at Pusa (New
Delhi) has already conducted alternatives can also provide farmers with
successful trials of this decomposer additional income streams. It is time to shift from
during the kharif season. In these
trials, the decomposing solution burning to building.”
effectively converted 90% of
the stubble into compost within
20 days. Farmers receive these
capsules at a low cost, but they
are responsible for arranging labor Fines and FIRs are calculated based on farm size,
to spray the solution. The process The Haryana government took ranging from `30,000 for those
could be made more efficient with significant action in 2024 by with more than five acres of land to
the introduction of machinery issuing orders that allow FIRs to be `5,000 for farms under two acres.
or even drones to speed up the registered against farmers who burn
application. crop residue. This move aligns with Particle Boards and

Private companies are also the directives of the Commission Packaging Solutions
stepping up to address this issue. for Air Quality Management Craste, a company founded by
Merino Industries, a manufacturer (CAQM), a statutory body Shubham and Himansha Singh in
of laminates, has developed a established in 2021. Violations of Pune, purchases crop waste from
microbe-based culture called CAQM directives can result in a farmers to reduce stubble burning and
Bajrang Baan, in collaboration with prison sentence of up to five years provide farmers with a new income
VNIT Nagpur. This culture converts and/or fines of up to `1 crore. source. The waste is converted into
paddy straw into nutrient-dense The commission’s jurisdiction is biodegradable pulp sheets, food-
compost in just 20 days as part of limited to the NCR and adjoining grade packaging material, and green
their sustainability project, Nirmal. areas. As of November 30, last particle boards for use in furniture.
The manure produced is distributed year, fines exceeding `1.47 crore Shubham Singh, with a background
through CII across various regions. had been collected from farmers in in chemical engineering, sought
India generates 20 million tonnes of Haryana and Punjab. Inspections innovative solutions to tackle stubble
paddy straw annually, and with few revealed that penalties were levied burning and started the company with
disposal options, burning remains a on 638 farmers in Haryana and support from a BIRAC fellowship.
common practice. 5,525 farmers in Punjab. The fines
Their work serves as a sustainable
alternative to plastic packaging while
generating income for farmers.
At Punjab Agricultural University
Turning Stubble into Profit (PAU), Anil Sharma came up with
In Mehatpur, Jalandhar, Gurtej Singh has turned paddy stubble into a the idea of compressing stubble
profitable business by using it to make cardboard. After initially starting bales into furniture. Inspired by
a cardboard business in 2007, Singh switched to using paddy straw as the rectangular shapes of stubble
a raw material in 2010. With training from the Kisan Vigyan Kendra bales in a field, he created furniture
(KVK), he learned how to use farm waste for cardboard production. Over pieces like sofas and tables, offering
time, farmers in his area, spanning 300 acres, have become suppliers a low-cost alternative to burning
of stubble for Singh’s business. Singh takes pride in contributing to the the stubble. This concept has been
reduction of pollution caused by stubble burning while making use of tested at PAU and could provide a
farm waste in a sustainable way. creative, ecofriendly solution for
using stubble instead of burning it.
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