Case Study:Waste Management in India

As the second largest populated country in the world, India faces various hindrances to its
development. Solid Waste Management is of critical concern and needs attention.

With rapid urbanisation, the country is facing massive waste management challenges.
Statistics show that in 2001 India generated 46 million tonnes of waste. Solid Waste
Management (SWM) is one among the basic essential services provided by municipal
authorities in the country to keep urban centres

clean.

The current waste management practice in India involves collecting waste from sources
through a community collective bin system, after which it gets transported to a low-lying
landfill system with intermediate processing of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Current
procedures are not ideal, hence, the solid waste management crisis. Statistics show that by
2047 this number is predicted to reach an estimate of 258 million tonnes, making India the
largest waste contributor of the world.

The open dumping practice leads to various problems like pollution and health hazards. Both
surface and groundwater are affected by this; in fact, groundwater is in a critical state. Major
problems affecting solid waste management are unscientific treatment, improper collection of
waste, and ethical problems. Landfills generate a toxic soup known as leachate, formed
when waste is subjected to biological and physiochemical transformation. Leachate is highly
toxic which in turn leads to hazards like environmental degradation, water pollution, soil
pollution, and air pollution. Moreover, nearly 20% of methane gas emissions in India is
caused by landfills. The trash dumped in the landfills are prone to catching fire due to the
heat generated by the decomposition of waste.

The key to efficient waste management is to ensure proper segregation of waste at the
source and to ensure that the waste goes through different streams of recycling and
resource recovery. The reduced final residue is then deposited scientifically in sanitary
landfills, landfills where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe . Sanitary
landfills are the ultimate means of disposal for unutilised municipal solid waste from waste
processing facilities and other types of inorganic waste that cannot be reused or recycled.
Major limitation of this method is the costly transportation of MSW to far away landfill sites.
Waste management has to start at all levels and for a long term goal, civic bodies have to
redraw long term vision in solid waste management and rework their strategies as per
changing lifestyles. They should reinvent garbage management in cities so that we can
process waste rather than dump them in landfills. To do this, households and institutions
must segregate their waste at the source so that it could be managed as a resource.
Compost pits should be constructed in every locality to process organic waste. Community
participation has a direct bearing on efficient waste management. Recovery of e-waste is
abysmally low, we need to encourage recycling of e-waste on a very large scale level so that
problem of e-waste disposal is contained.

A more straight-forward approach is to cut back on the amount of waste by using and
throwing out less in the first place. Some states have adopted regulatory strategies to
discourage dependence on landfills. In 1990, for example, California enacted a law that
established a baseline for the amount of solid waste its cities and towns send to landfills. By
1995, that amount was to be reduced by 25 percent; by the year 2000, by 50 percent.
California now diverts more than 25 percent of its waste, resulting in disposal of
approximately 33 million tons per year. Such heavy cuts are usually accomplished by
recycling.

Packaging is one of the major sources of waste paper and plastics. According to EarthWorks
Groups, it accounts for approximately one-third of all the garbage Americans send to
landfills. Packaging should be minimal. Its production should be environmentally clean and it
should be made up of materials that can be reused or recycled. Smart buyers can support
the use of environmentally friendly packaging by purchasing products with minimal
packaging or packaging made of recycled or recyclable materials.

A more viable and popular method is the use of scientific landfills. One of the biggest
problems of ordinary landfills is the seeping of solid waste into underlying soil and water,
contaminating both. Scientific landfills eliminate the risk of waste seeping underground as
the base layer is constructed of 90 metres of clay, thus eliminating chances of any seepage
or leakage within the landfill. Scientific landfills also act as degassing systems by reducing
the production of methane. Since the layers soak most of the impurities, methane generates
slowly compared to the generation speed in ordinary landfills. Vertical wells installed in
scientific landfills help extract methane regularly, and the gas can then be used for electricity
and heat generation purposes.

The other solution to the challenge is inculcating the prowess to make the right technological
decisions. For instance, the problem of plastic waste is a menace for the world, since the
waste takes millions of years to degrade and causes a big threat to the environment.
However, an Indian professor in Madurai, Rajagopalan Vasudevan, has given us a possible
solution to this problem by using this plastic to make long-lasting roads. A dumping ground in
Mumbai’s Gorai was treated using herbal methods, enzymes and bacteria. This was another
great initiative to solve the problems associated with landfill sites

Last but not the least, it needs to be ensured that human capital on a large scale follows all
the aspects of this process – from planning, research to implementation. This is a solution
which is being commendably followed by Kerala’s Alappuzha city, which was even placed
second in the United Nations Environment Assembly’s list for smart waste management.
As individuals, we should always follow the 4Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) for
efficiently handling our waste. Start segregating your waste at home into dry and wet waste.
A major portion of the waste generated in India is wet waste, which can be converted to a
compost. So, start composting at home to turn waste into resources.