Social and Economic Management of Pine Leaves

Vijay Kumar, Shipra Gupta and Bhanu Sharma

Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India

Keywords: Pine Leaves, Socio-Economic, Recycling, Environment, Sustainability.

Abstract: Recycling pine leaves is an environmentally friendly alternative to generating organic waste that contributes

to environmental degradation and takes up space within landfills. If pine leaves were to end up decomposing

in landfills, they would generate greenhouse gases and contaminate the environment, and that is prevented by

them being recycled instead. Pine leaves contain valuable nutrients that can be used to produce an order for

organic fertilizers, making them a good substitute for artificial fertilizers, recycling the leaves also improves

soil quality, making it conducive to healthier plant life. By recycling pine leaves, a resource cycle is

established nut begins to run. In turn, the establishment and operation of pine recycling facilities create

employment opportunities within local communities. The collection, transport, and processing of pine leaves

in recycling facilities create jobs during the recycling chain, which ranges from collection to transportation,

processing, and distribution, and that means the recycling of pine leaves can contribute to the growth of local

economies and the development of local communities. Recycling pine leaves can also be a cost-effective

replacement for traditional waste disposal methods and is a strategy that saves municipalities and businesses

money on waste disposal costs and the cost of building and running expensive waste disposal facilities. The

contribution of pine leaves to recycling processes represents a redirection of waste streams that is central to

the establishment and operation of a circular economy, and which is more efficient and resilient than the

current linear economy. Pine recycling initiatives require community participation, which creates a sense of

environmental responsibility that can lead to local pride. These values, in turn, promote social cohesion and

security. Educational programs on recycling and sustainable lifestyles that may be integrated into pine

recycling initiatives can also enhance environmental awareness and social cohesion. In conclusion, the

benefits of recycling pine leaves are multi-faceted; the practice maintains the environment, conserves

resources, creates employment, returns nutrients to the environment, improves soil quality, saves money and

space, encourages community participation, and reduces carbon footprints, and is thus consistent with nearly

all socioeconomic development objectives. The implementation and support of pine recycling initiatives will

enhance the overall well-being and sustainability of local and global communities.

1 INTRODUCTION

Recycling pine leaves, also known as pine needles or

pine straw, has the potential to generate many

socioeconomic benefits that enhance both

environmental sustainability and economic well-

being. Pine leaves are a common consequence of

forestry and landscaping activities, and recycling

offers a comprehensive waste management solution.

A presentation of the connected financial benefits

takes after- 1. Ferreira-Santos P, et al. (2005).

Natural Preservation: Keeping pine cleared out of

landfills decreases the natural effect of trash transfer.

This incorporates brought-down volumes (lessening

of landfill burden) and outflows of poisonous gasses,

such as methane, bringing down the general natural

impression.

Soil Wellbeing Advancement: When reused as mulch

or natural matter, pine takes off and gives natural

fabric that can advantage soil wellbeing. They

upgrade soil structure, dampness maintenance, and

supplement substance, empowering more beneficial

and more beneficial plant advancement while

moreover developing economical horticulture

strategies- 2. Mármol I. et al., (2019).

Disintegration control and water preservation:

Utilizing reused pine takes off as mulch makes a

difference to dodge soil disintegration. The covering

of pine straw settles the soil, limiting water runoff and

boosting water invasion, both of which are basic to

water preservation endeavors, particularly in drought-

Kumar, V., Gupta, S. and Sharma, B.

Social and Economic Management of Pine Leaves.

DOI: 10.5220/0012870100003882

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR-2 2023), pages 447-451

ISBN: 978-989-758-723-8

447

prone zones or those encountering water shortage

challenges.

Financial changes: The reusing of pine clears out

making chances for nearby endeavors to accumulate,

handle, and showcase reused pine straw items. The

industry has the potential to supply work, with

occupations in collecting, handling, and conveying

reused pine taking off profiting territorial and nearby

communities- El Omari N, et al., (2020).

Bolster for the Scene and Cultivation Industry:

Landscapers and horticulturists utilize reused pine

takes off as cost-effective, long-lasting mulch. The

accessibility of these reused pine straw items

decreases the request for manufactured options

whereas too advancing the development of plants and

trees, contributing to the common magnificence of

urban and country settings- Chiu H.F. et al., (2019).

In expansion to this, communities can be included

through instruction. Reusing pine clears can be

advanced as a technique to empower communities to

receive environmentally advantageous propensities.

Instructive programs can be made to educate the

benefits of reusing, raising mindfulness of its positive

effects and creating intrigued in eco-friendly hones;

cultivating a sense of natural awareness that leads to

a community-driven decrease in squandering and

advancement of preservation.

As already expressed, the financial benefits of reusing

pine take off expand past squander administration to

incorporate natural preservation, moved forward soil

wellbeing, financial action, and prospects for

financial advancement. It can also include

communities and empower community-led

preservation- Yang H., et al. (2021).

Finally, the socioeconomic benefits of recycling pine

leaves go beyond trash management; as an enterprise,

it may assist environmental conservation and better

soil health, as well as engage communities in

increasing awareness and generating community-

driven conservation efforts. Recognizing and

properly appreciating these benefits is likely to pave

the way for more sustainable and economically

feasible strategies that improve the environment

while also aiding local community economic growth-

Kim K.Y., et al., (2000).

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This has been a big idea in Uttarakhand state for the

past few years because of losses caused by forest fires

and because of the promotion of organic farming,

which the state's current chief minister has made a

priority. This is because pine spp predominates at

high altitudes (>1000m), which is one of the main

causes of the state's frequent forest fires because pine

needles are most likely the burning raw material. As

they start to burn, pine needles are more likely to

break and catch fire; this is comparable to how

something shines more when it is more polished. Pine

needles are combustible once they catch fire because

they contain waxes and resins- Postu P.A., et al.,

(2019).

It fills it in when submerged in water, and it covers

the whole forest floor during a forest fire. Thus, pine

needles, lantana shrubs, and other tree waste litter

(rubbish) can be used to produce biomass energy

(white coal + vermin compost) for productive uses,

thereby reducing the risk of forest fires. After that, all

of this biomass (pine needles, waste leaves from other

trees, waste dry wood, and lantana shrubs as raw

material) can be gathered by a community project and

collected from the forests- Kurti F., et al. (2019). This

biomass can then be processed into vermin compost

and white coal briquettes (high-density biomass),

which will help to commercialize the biomass.

Forest fires are a common occurrence during the

summer in the northwestern Himalayas, keeping

residents and foresters on edge. Aside from causing

enormous damage to flora and fauna, they are a major

contributor to climate change, since several hectares

of green cover gradually become a major cause of

forest fires. Pine needles, which are the leaves of pine

trees, are extremely flammable due to the presence of

turpentine oil- 10. Venkatesan T., et al., (2019).

A single spark and high temperature are sufficient to

ignite them. Pine is widely dispersed over the world.

A total of 120 pine species have been recognized,

with the top 40 identified in each country. Pinus

roxburghii is the botanical name for the pine found in

Asia's Himalayan area, including India (I), Bhutan

(B), China (Ch), and Afghanistan (A).

It is frequently referred to as Chir Pine. Keeping in

mind its elemental nature, all countries have adopted

some common management practices for pine bio

residue in the form of pine needles, such as raking,

lifting from the forest floors, and use for various local

purposes such as manure, animal bedding, fire

control, electricity generation, and so on- Postu P.A.,

et al., (2019). Pine bio residue is renewable and has

the potential to alleviate global energy crises due to

its environmental compatibility. The authors have

also proposed using pine needles as a green energy

source- Mármol I., et al. (2019).

Approximately 2 million tonnes of trash (pine

needles) in the form of dry biomass are produced by

Uttarakhand's pine forests. A dense layer of fallen

pine needles inhibits the establishment of green grass.

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The locals set fire to the pine debris because they want

lush grass to feed their cattle. Forest fires caused by

dry pine needles are the leading source of greenhouse

gas emissions in the atmosphere- Venkatesan T., et

al., (2019).

In this form, it emits about 500 million kilograms of

CO2 into the atmosphere each year. The Indian

government implemented several policies and

measures to combat forest fires. Some of these

policies and actions include the Indian Forest Act of

1927, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the Forest

(Conservation) Rules of 1981, and the National

Forest Policy of 1988.

Every year, 600 million trees, mostly pines, are cut

down in the EU and distributed around the world.

45% of the stock grows in industrialized, man-made

forests. Pine is mostly used for lumber since it grows

quickly and is inexpensive, making it widely

employed in the construction sector, furniture

manufacturing, and paper production. But trees

contain more than simply timber. If the entire tree

could be eaten and consumed, demand for wood and

other raw materials would be significantly decreased.

The authors investigate the use of pine needles as an

alternative material for a variety of applications. Pine

needles account for 20-30% of total tree mass: while

the branches are used for biomass to generate energy,

pine needles are left over because their high raisin

content prevents them from being burned, and

billions of needles are thus left behind each year,

drying or rotting in forests after pine trees are cut

down.

Wildfires engulf millions of hectares of forest in the

Indian Himalayan area each summer. The highly

inflammable pine needles that litter the forest floor

are a primary cause of fires. A social venture in

Uttarakhand is attempting to reverse this by collecting

needles and converting them into big semi-fermented

masses, which are then used to make methane. This is

designed to prevent forest fires, create local jobs, and

offer a more reliable power source to the region.

This master’s dissertation attempts to answer the

questions of what the model contributes to sustainable

development and whether it is suitable for scaling out.

The study creates a local sustainability assessment

framework to evaluate the operation's current

performance, impact on people and the forest, and

future hazards. Interviews with a wide range of

stakeholders in the field, observations, a household

survey, and a literature analysis reveal the significant

hurdles of using pine needles for energy, as well as

the project's early visible triumphs. This study aims

to bring the complexity of sustainable development

'in practice' to life by grounding them in the reality of

a social company.

Pine needles are a major cause of forest fires in India's

western Himalayas. One of the forest bio residual

choices is to carefully find ways to use these pine

needles. Pine needles can be used to make briquettes,

which are a valuable type of renewable energy source.

There is a need to employ this type of renewable

energy since it has low carbon emissions, has very

few technological interventions, is easy to access, and

provides direct benefits to the community. The goal

of this study is to list, categorize, and rank the

enablers that promote energy generation with dried

pine needle briquettes.

This research uses the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy

Process, a multi-criteria decision-making approach,

to rank such enablers. It discovers that among the

technology enablers, those interventions will operate

when mediated by a set of technological enablers, and

therefore technological enablers are critical to

unlocking the potential of dried and fallen pine

needles for energy generation. The third category of

enablers is those that affect the environment on

multiple levels.

The third significant set of enablers is market-related,

which comprises the industry's strong demand for

pine needle-based bio briquettes, a viable fuel

linkage, and a sense of business strategy among the

principal actors. The economic enablers include the

ability of such initiatives to produce employment,

offer supplemental income, and promote a sense of

self-sufficiency, making them enticing enough for

individuals to accept.

Finally, government and social and community-based

facilitators are critical, and their existence is often

overlooked in such efforts. This is the first study of

its type. No research has identified, classed, or ranked

these enablers for the generation of energy from pine

needles in Uttarakhand. The document has the

potential to help accomplish the United Nations'

Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, which

include climate action and affordable and sustainable

energy.

3 MATERIALS AND METHOD

The pine leaves are dropped from the pine trees after

a particular time. These leaves remain lying idle in the

forest of Kumauni in Uttarakhand. The lying leaves

became dry after some leaves. The oil contents are

present in the leaves. In summer, this dry leave

become the main reason for fire in the forest. When

the fire is expanded in the forest, these leaves work as

Social and Economic Management of Pine Leaves

449

fuel to the fire. If these leaves are done collect from

the forest and buy from the labour collector. It may

be the employment for the labour.

This device is a portable recycling machine of waste

pine leaves. The purpose of this machine is to make

the board (just like a wooden board) by recycling

waste pine leaves. The size of the machine is adjusted

in such a way that it may be used domestically.

The machine has six main components. These are as

follows:

The first component is the weighing scale. This

component works with a weighing sensor. As the

waste pine leaves are kept in the area, the machine

will start to work after a particular weighing limit.

This component will be adjusted on the top of the

machine. The second component of the machine is the

cutting machine. The cutting blades will cut the waste

leaves into small pieces. The purpose of this section

is to convert the waste leaves into small pieces of the

same size. The third component of the machine is the

shredder machine. The uniform pieces of the waste

leaves will be shifted in this section. The blades of the

shredder machine will convert the waste leaves into

very small pieces.

The fourth component of the machine will be a pulp-

making section. In this section, the machine will

make the pulp of the leaves. The pulp of the leaves is

converted into a layer. The screw press machine help

to make the surface of the layer of pulp smooth and

hard. The screw press device helps to remove the

moisture. The final product of this machine will be in

the form of a board of pine leaves just like a wooden

board. The power is generated by the solar panel,

which is situated on the top of the device. To charge

the battery through a solar cell, the given device

should be put on the roof of the home or in an open

place.

4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Please find below an example of how waste-to-wealth

can be a robust tool in socio-economic conversation.

This example is by recycling waste pine leaves, and

the socio-economic outcome and conversations can

be:

Environmental Conservation Reduced Landfill

Pressure: Recycling waste pine leaves reduces the

pressure on landfills from organic material and

addresses the pollution of the environment.

Soil Health Improvement: Waste pine leaves when

composted or made into an organic fertilizer nourish

the soil with nutrients and improve its structure.

Economic Opportunities Work Creation: The

process of waste collection to processing uses a lot of

human labor meaning work for those collecting the

waste, driving vehicles, sorting, processing, etc.

Small Business Development: The entry of waste

pine leaf recycling introduces small businesses like

waste processing, composting, and products created

for recycles. There is also potential for the recycling

of pine leaves to be used as a raw material in

industries to reduce resource requirements for

production and further the conservation of resources.

The recycling process would require far less energy

than manufacturing the same from raw mined

products saving significant amounts of energy and the

resultant greenhouse gas emissions. Through such

measures, the community learns and becomes more

environmentally responsible and sustainable by

understanding the issues from seeing them, and so

discrimination between news and fake news is almost

automatic.

Community Participation: Engaging local

communities in the recycling of their wastes builds

community pride and place attachment leading to a

happier, more sustainable, and environmentally

caring community. Recycling of remnant pine leaves

can be an annual saving in landfill space and direct

operational costs for a town.

Business Cost Reduction: When businesses use

recycled pine leaves, they may find it costs them less

than when they use other raw materials.

Product Invention: The recycling of pine leaves may

assist in the invention of new products that can be

commercialized and are sustainable.

Market Expansion: With recycled pine leaf

products, some new markets may be opened

particularly for environment-concerned people

leading to growth in the green economy. Government

policy and incentives

Policy Support: Governments can support waste

recycling through a variety of policy initiatives

including supporting particularly good examples, tax

breaks, and subsidies to green businesses.

Regulatory Compliance: Mandatory recycling from

businesses can rapidly make waste management more

sustainable.

5 CONCLUSION

The proper management of waste pine leaves delivers

socio-economic benefits well beyond the

environmental conservation of the final (recycling)

product. It is a sustainable environmental practice that

reduces landfill pressure and improves soil health. It

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generates jobs and is a spin-off for small industries. It

could well be that what is recycled is used as a raw

material reducing resource needs and finally the need

for energy. It identifies the community, which in

countless ways, leads to environmental awareness

and consciousness, and a commitment to take

stewardship of the natural environment around us,

and so produce the yield of the general practice of

such a waste management initiative. Municipal cost

savings and the benefits to be realized by a corporate

entity an actual direct monetary advantage. Reduced

landfill cost by a municipality and economic

advantages by a corporate entity vis-à-vis other raw

material.

In summary, socio-economic benefits will reign from

handling the pine leaves as waste pine leaves will

become part of a full socio-economic cycle – waste to

consumer product. Within the benefits include

environmental sustainability, job creation,

community health, and economic expansion. The

only manner in which so wide an array of benefits

may be had is through a process of direct guidance of

the pine leaf under the aegis of the Directorate for the

Bionic Pine Tree, a creature of the Ohio Department

of Natural Resources.

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