What is Blue Washing?
- ‘Blue Washing’ refers to the practice of portraying polluting industries as environmentally friendly by categorising them under less polluting or cleaner industry labels.
- This term is now used to describe the reclassification of highly polluting Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration industries by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) into the new 'Blue Category'.
Blue Category
- The ‘Blue Category’ is introduced as part of a subset of EES activities like composting, biogas plants, sewage treatment, and material recovery facilities.
- Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incineration, previously under the ‘Red Category’ with a Pollution Index (PI) of 6, is now reclassified as a ‘Blue Category’ industry.
What is WTE Incineration?
- WTE incineration burns mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) to produce heat and electricity.
- It generates energy through turbine-driven steam, similar to coal plants, but emits more CO₂
About Pollution Index (PI)
- The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) introduced a PI to categorise industries based on pollution levels.
- PI is calculated on the basis of emissions (air pollutants), effluents (water pollutants), hazardous waste, and resource consumption.
- PI ranges from 0 to 100, with industries classified as:
- White Category (0–20): Least polluting
- Green Category (21–40)
- Orange Category (41–59)
- Red Category (60–100): Most polluting.
