Solid Waste Management In India Environmental Sciences Essay

In this report, some problems in solid waste management in India will be discussed as well as the efforts made by the government and the residents of India to help reduce the problems in managing the solid waste generated by the residents.

BACKGROUND

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India is known as one of the most populous countries in the world. It appears to be the second country to have the highest number of residents. With the total population of 1.2billions, the management of solid waste in India has encountered problems. Each year, the population grew by 3-3.5%, as this factor arises, the rate of solid waste generation also rise up to 1.3 %. The solid waste management members in India must organize and manage the management excellently in order to provide a better living environment to the humans, animals and plants. An excellent solid waste management also helps in providing a good environment which has low pollutions including air, soil, and water pollutions. Thus, there are laws, rules, regulations, legislations and ordinances enforced by the government to make the citizens adhere to as one of the ways of managing the waste generation.

The main cities in India, Mumbai and New Delhi have appeared to be in the list of 25 Most Dirtiest Cities in The World. Mumbai and New Delhi placed at 7th and 24th places respectively which the latter is less dirty.

PROBLEMS

Waste management is the main problem in India , faced with rapid population growth, disorganization of city governments, a lack of public awareness and involvement of public. Furthermore the insufficiency municipal solid waste collection and improper segregation of municipal solid waste and improper processing of solid waste can also contribute to main problems waste management this is due to lacking of some technique, actions and management from authorities to improve municipal solid waste.

EFFECTS ON POOR WASTE MANAGEMENT

Health issue is the major problem in India as many of the disease came from the pollutions made by them.

Health issue arise due to poor waste management for example is malnutrition, especially the children which is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function. (Medical dictionary,2012)

Furthermore, health issue such as dengue, fever, Hepatitis, tuberculosis , malaria , pneumonia, and also poor sanitation due to poor waste management.

India also ranked 3rd among the countries with the most HIV affected.

Due to poor waste management by the authorities, availability of clean and safe water is minimized because of people threw rubbish at the river and the quality of living will decrease.

PROBLEM SOLVING: THE MANAGEMENT

There are many approaches done by the country in managing the solid waste generation. One of the ways is by law enforcement.

These are the laws that are regulated in the country:-

One of the authorities that responsible is Centre of Environment and Development, Thiruvananthapuram (CED) is the Centre of Excellence (CoE) of Ministry f Urban Development , Government of India on “solid waste and Wastewater management “. The main objective of the (CoE) is to develop the strategy and framework for solid waste management (SWM) and Wastewater management (WWM) in the Urban local bodies (ULBs) of India and also to established of a knowledge centre on solid waste and waste water management.

Example of waste management system National acts and rules:

NATIONAL ACTS AND RULES

The water (prevention and control of pollution ) Act, 1974

The water (prevention and control pollution) rules ,1975

The water (prevention and control pollution ) CESS ACT, 1977

water  (prevention and control of pollution)  CESS RULES, 1978

The air (prevention and control of pollution ) act, 1981

The environment (Protection) Act, 1986

The Bio medical waste (Management and handling ) rules, 1998

Municipal solid waste (management and handling) rules 2000

The plastic waste (management and handling) rules, 2011

E-waste (management and handling) rules, 2011

EPA -Rule and Implementation Information for Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

EPA-Non-hazardous Waste Regulations

EPA Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Regulations

Statutes, Regulations, and Regulatory Guidance

Example of waste management system in state of India :

The Karnataka town and country planning act, 1961

Shimla municipal corporation ( sanitation and public health ) Bye-laws, 2004

Municipal Corporation of Brihanmumbai , municipal solid waste (prohibition of littering and regulation of segregation , storage, delivery & collection ) rules 2006

Greater Mumbai cleanliness and sanitation bye-laws 2006

Andrha Pradesh water resources regulatory commission act – Andrha Pradesh water reform (2009)

Technique

Action

1.

municipal solid wastes collection

S State government should enforce a new strategiy which prohibit littering of municipal solid waste in cities towns and urban areas. The following steps shall be taken by the municipal authority :

Organising house-to-house collection of municipal solid wastes through any of the methods, for example community bin collection (central bin), house-to-house collection, collection on regular pre-informed timings and scheduling by using bell ringing of musical vehicle (without exceeding permissible noise levels)

Planning a systematic way and united effort for collection of waste from poverty areas or localities including hotels, restaurants, office complexes and commercial areas.

Bio-medical wastes and industrial wastes shall not be combined with municipal solid wastes and such wastes should follow the rules separately specified for the purpose.

Horticultural and construction or demolition wastes or debris shall be separately collected and disposed off following proper norms. Similarly, wastes generated at dairies shall be regulated in accordance with the State laws.

Stray animals such as dogs and cats shall not be allowed to move around waste storage facilities or at any other place in the city or town and shall be managed in accordance with the State laws.

The municipal authority shall notify waste collection schedule in neighborhoods.

2.

Segregation of municipal solid wastes

Segregation materials should be done by municipal authority by promote recycling and reused waste by create or organized an awareness programs and campaign. The municipal authority shall take in charge phased programs to ensure community participate in waste segregation programmed. For this purpose, the municipal authorities shall arrange regular meetings at quarterly intervals with representatives of local resident welfare associations and non-governmental organizations.

3.

Storage of municipal solid wastes

Municipal authorities shall establish and maintain storage facilities in such a manner as they do not create unhygienic and in sanitary conditions around it. There is some example criteria shall be taken to establishing and maintaining storage facilities :

The quantities of waste generation should be counted in order to create enough storage facilities in a given area and the population densities. Furthermore, a storage facility shall be so placed that it is accessible to user.

Storage facilities to be set up by municipal authorities or any other agency shall be so designed that wastes stored are not exposed to open atmosphere and shall be aesthetically acceptable and user-friendly.

4.

Transportation of municipal solid wastes

Vehicles used for transportation of wastes shall be covered. Waste should not be visible to public, nor exposed to open environment preventing their scattering and unpleasant smell. The following criteria shall be met is :

The storage facilities set up by municipal authorities shall be daily attended for clearing of wastes. The bins or containers wherever placed shall be cleaned before they start overflowing.

5.

Processing of municipal solid wastes

To minimize burden on landfill the municipal authorities shall adopt suitable technology or combination techniques to process the municipal solid waste.

The biodegradable wastes shall be processed by composting, vermicomposting, anaerobic digestion or any other appropriate biological processing for stabilization of solid waste.

Mixed waste containing recoverable resources shall follow the route of recycling. Incineration with or without energy recovery including pelletisation can also be used for processing wastes in specific cases. Municipal authority or the operator of a facility wishing to use other state-of-the-art technologies shall approach the Central Pollution Control Board to get the standards laid down before applying for grant of authorisation.

RECCOMENDATIONS

Even though the country already has laws, but there are one problem that caused the management to fail; the overpopulation. India is a developing country where the population exceeds the limit, low level of education, poor facilities, unstable economy and poor hygiene. What our group could recommend is encounter the overpopulation problem. Overpopulation permits the more waste generation which adds to more problems to the pre-existing waste management. The management must think progressively as the rate of the population progresses. Also, the management must be able to foresee the upcoming problems in regard of the elevating rate of population. It is also recommended that the government should put education as one of the priorities so that approaching the citizens regarding the importance of appreciating the mother’s nature would be easier.