Waste Management Opportunities in India

Solid waste comprises of all wastages arising from human and animal activities that are normally solids and are discarded as useless or unwanted i.e. precious material at wrong place. Solid waste management includes all administrative, financial, legal, planning, and engineering functions involved in the whole spectrum of solutions to problems of solid wastes (Tchobanaglous et al., 1997). Collection and transportation of municipal solid waste are those public services that have important impacts on public health and the appearance of towns and cities (UN-Habitat).

Unfortunately many urban administrations seem to be losing the battle of coping with the ever-increasing quantities of waste. Waste Management has become a matter of great concern to most city corporations, and there have been some instances of management collapse even in metropolitan cities in the year 2012. All this build-up took place within a single decade, which is why many corporations have awakened to the rude shock.

The solid waste generated in Indian cities has increased from 6 million tonnes in 1947 to 48 million tonnes in 1997 and is expected to increase to 300 million tonnes per annum by 2047 (CPCB, 2000a). More than 25% of the municipal solid waste is not collected at all, 70% of the Indian cities lack adequate capacity to transport it and there are no sanitary landfills to dispose of the waste. The challenge increased by the diversity of materials in the waste, which is no longer mainly food waste and ash, but includes more and more plastic packaging, paper and discarded electronic equipment. Infrequent collection and rapid decomposition of have grave environmental impacts. An ineffective collection and transportation adversely affects processing and disposal of waste which results in an overall failure of the municipal solid waste management system.

The challenges are more organizational rather than technical. Waste management is often a non-profit making business and thus is treated as an unwanted side-effect of development. Attention should be paid to storage, collection, transport, and intermediate transfer to bulk transport and final disposal. There is absolute inadequacy of synchronization of the whole system which leads to loss of efficiency and effectiveness. Decision Makers and professionals concerned with Solid Waste Management in developing countries are often unaware of importance of issues like careful selection of refuse vehicles for local conditions, non-rational waste collection routes, long vehicle downtimes, harsh driving conditions, inappropriate cooperation from citizens, multiple handling of waste, etc. which have lead to a serious wastage of efforts and expenditure in this direction. The technology used is largely obsolete and inappropriate because of a lack of understanding of the system and no ground work.

Waste Management was conveniently done by dumping waste in rural areas, which then gave rise to a bigger menace of ‘pollution sinks’. Residential and commercial wastes are mostly in semisolid and solid forms. Even the bio-medical wastes, which have been treated, fall into this category. Industrial waste on the other hand is not included in this category.

Municipal solid waste management is quite a complex process, which clearly means a lot of investment in infrastructure, technology, and planning. It means efficiently handling:

• Institutional waste
• Dead animals waste at slaughter houses
• Demolition and construction wastes
• Wastes which gets accumulated on the roads
• Waste derived from horticultural processes
• Treated bio-medical waste
• Waste due to drains and outlets
• Sludge from industries
• Commercial waste from the market areas

Urban Local Bodies and the state governments are actively working towards bringing about urban transformations. Most of the reforms are aimed at infusing highest sustainability to infrastructure developments. In Hence, solid Waste Management sector in India has become a very lucrative sector for investors.
Millions of tons of wastage are sent to the landfills near most of the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Bhopal, Chennai, etc. These undertakings are managed and run by both government and private enterprises.

It is very essential to access efficiency of Solid Waste Management service, develop ways to reduce costs and/or increase services within its current budget. All the waste collected should be emptied and disposed off through a socially and environmentally accepted practice. Informal sector, being the largest direct involved group in the system needs to be involved in the formal setting and provided social and economic security. There is a need to listen to the public for their ideas, respond to their requests and follow up to resolve any complaints. A holistic change can be brought only by periodic review of the performance of waste management system in meeting its goals which need to be practical, achievable and measurable.

Requirement of an efficient MSW collection and transportation mechanism: improper collection will lead to,

1. Improper collection and thus transportation and disposal will affect the health of public.
2. Threatens the sustainability of the environment.
3. Spoils the scenic beauty of the environment.
4. Brings upon social and economic losses.

Factors having a major impact on collection and transportation of Municipal Solid Waste:

1. Expectations and attitudes of citizens.
2. Local climate.
3. Typology of generated waste.
4. Architecture and infrastructure.
5. Street and domestic animals.
6. Economic factors relevant.
7. Local and national legislations.
8. Financial planning and purchasing.

Key steps in developing or modifying a waste collection and transportation system:

1. Defining the goals and constraints of the society
2. Characterization of waste generation and service areas that are divided
3. Determination of public and private collection and transfer options
4. Determination of the funding structure for the system as solid waste management is a capital intensive process
5. Identification of waste preparation and collection procedures
6. Identification o f collection equipment and crew size requirements
7. Evaluation of transfer needs and options available
8. Evaluation of collection and transfer alternatives.
9. Development of proper and efficient collection routes and schedules
10. Implementation and proper monitoring of the collection and transfer system and adjustment as required.

Impact of efficient collection and transportation in MSWM:

1. Door to door collection of municipal solid waste improves leading to an improved sense of satisfaction among the beneficiary community.
2. Waste is much more efficiently and hygienically transported to the landfill site
3. Environmental conditions improve in the region
4. Citizens become aware of the waste impact leading to negligible street littering, bins are adequately sized and placed.
5. Stray animals are not able to gather around waste and litter it
6. Waste containers are attractive and no foul smell arises from the containers because of proper lids and bin covers
7. Manual handling of waste is minimized due to efficient collection and transportation leading to improved health of waste workers
8. Informal sector is proper formalized with improved social and economical conditions
9. Citizens are better aware of cleanliness and health leading to a better way of life for them
10. Municipal Solid Waste Rules are followed precisely leading to better community acceptability of practices and replication as best models.

Waste separation at source helps in reducing the volume of waste transported and disposed of financial disposal sites, making transport earlier, increasing recovery rates of valuable waste, extending lifetimes of landfills, keeping the city clean, minimizing the risk of water clogging and flooding, avoiding soil and water pollution and so on.

Route planning criteria:

1. Routes should not overlap and should be continuous.
2. Starting point should be close to vehicle garage.
3. Heavily traveled routes should be avoided during rush hours.
4. Waste should be collected towards the down slope.
5. Long straight paths should be routed before looping clockwise.

Front End waste separation facility: it refers to mass collection and separation of valuable waste content before disposal. This system is worth implementing when labor cost is low, waste separation at source is successful. In front end separation, large item is separated on a conveyer system and then recyclables are further segregated. Such a facility can be established near the town or close to a utilization or disposal site.

• Waste collection vehicles designed to handle a particular type of waste might be totally unsuited for waste with different characteristics.
• A system may be regarded as inappropriate if the balance between mechanized and labor input is not suited to local conditions, leading to inefficient or costly waste collection services.
• Lack of appreciation of the socio-economic and cultural factors which determine behavioral responses from the public has led authorities to introduce systems which ave proved inappropriate and ineffective.
• The urban poor have often been excluded from the benefits of solid waste collection services.
• The solution to many of the problems of solid waste management is the careful selection and operation of solid waste collection equipment that is efficient and yet responsive to the physical and socio-economic conditions of various neighborhoods where service is provided.
• Development and use of, as far as possible, relevant, efficient, indigenous equipment that requires the least expenditure for every ton collected.
• High productivity requires the optimization of labor and equipment requirements, and the minimization of vehicle round trip time and down time.
• Because of differences it is not possible in many cities to have one system of waste collection. The various systems and vehicle types must be selected for each type of area so that each area has a system that is economical, reliable and acceptable to the residents or the community.
• Burning of litter on streets should be strictly prohibited for public health reasons. Street waste that is not collected may find its way expensive to collect waste out of drains than to sweep it up on the street.

Factors to be considered when selecting vehicle types:

1. Waste generation rates
2. Waste density
3. Waste volume per capita
4. Waste constituents
5. Transport distance and road conditions
6. Loading heights
7. Traffic conditions and restrictions
8. Local manufacturer and sustainability
9. Level of service and willingness to pay
10. Use of external advisors
11. Labor involvement in decision making
12. Transportation used in other sectors
13. Computer software for vehicle selection

Factors to be considered for efficient waste collection:

1. Frequency of collection
2. Time of the day
3. Days of the week
4. Shift working