Problems of Solid Waste Management in Indian Cities

Abstract

olid waste” refers to the refuse , the solid and semi solid waste matters of a community except the night soil . Solid waste contains organic as well as inorganic matters . Solid waste management includes the entire process of dealing with solid waste ,starting from the collection from the primary source to ultimately disposing off it hygienically, so that it may not be a nuisance or create any harmful effect on near by community .The solid waste management involves , management at waste generation level , storage at the source of generation , primary collection , street cleansing , temporary storage at locality level , regular and periodic transportation of this temporarily collected waste to disposing sites and treatment plants. As per Municipal solid waste Management and Handling rules -2000 , solid waste management is in the obligatory function of urban local bodies , but in actual practice the solid waste management is given the last priority and the duties are either not performed or poorly performed consequently the city has to face numerable problems related to environment and sanitation . As per the reports of the committee constituted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in March 99 , the lack of financial resources , inefficient institutional arrangement , inappropriate technology , weak legislative measures and unawareness in public towards solid waste management has made the service most unsatisfactory and inefficient . The solid waste management approach in India is extremely inefficient , using old and obsolete system , technology for storage collection processing ,treatment and disposal . There is no formal organized system of segregation of biodegradable and non biodegradable solid waste . The recovery and recycling of waste is only done by scavengers and scrap dealers which is highly hazardous to those which are involved in this job .