ANNOUNCEMENTS
The cement industry in India has been categorized as one of the highest pollution generating industries by the government, and with growing infrastructure requirements, the production of cement in India, which ranks second globally in cement production, can only rise. This could lead to pollution and further extraction of ‘resources’ for input-use. However, as a “Scavenger Industry”, cement production has the potential to “exchange” by-products, recycle, reuse, and innovate for their input requirements and waste outputs, instead of treating the environment as a “waste reservoir”. To address this, the concept of Industrial Ecology (IE) has being looked at, where industrial systems are re- imagined by imitating aspects of natural ecosystems. IE encourages the ‘exchange’ of by-products within industries to reduce pressure on the environment. Three models have been presented in which waste exchanges have been illustrated- use of fly ash from power plants as input in cement, use of waste plastic as fuel in the burner (known as Refuse Derived Fuel), and using crop residue as fuel in the burner (in the form of briquettes). It has been argued that the social benefits of implementing these exchanges are high and there is a case for the state to intervene and drive these practices. State may act as a match-maker to facilitate the “exchange” of by-products between industries, so as to reduce the environmental impact and gain social benefits.
Key words: Industrial Ecology, Closing Material Loops, Cement Industry, Industrial Waste Recycling, Delhi Pollution
