India is rapidly shifting from agricultural-based nation to industrial and services-oriented country. About 31.2% population is now living in urban areas. Over 377 million urban people are living in 7,935 towns/cities this has resulted in increased volumes and changing composition (increasing use of paper, plastic and other inorganic materials) of municipal solid waste in India.
The volume of waste is projected to increase from 64-72 million tons at present to 125 million tons by 2031. Un-segregated waste (a mixture of biodegradable or wet waste and non-biodegradable waste) from Indian cities lies for months and years at dumpsites where land was originally allocated for developing landfills for safe disposal of only the residual waste.
Domestic Hazardous Waste, Dry Waste and Wet Waste (from left to right)
The decomposition of organic matter in the airless heaps of waste at these dumpsites contributes to global warming by emission of gases like methane which is a Green House Gas. Since the present generation of waste is also not handled effectively, it exacerbates the problem. Many times, wastes are burnt which release gases like carbon monoxide. This can cause severe respiratory problems in addition to Global Warming.
An effective strategy for managing waste has to start with segregation of solid waste at the source of generation and the treatment of different components of the waste in appropriately different ways, thereby reducing the residual waste that may otherwise go to landfills. While the principles of solid waste management are being discussed in public domain, no Indian city has achieved a holistic solution to the challenges of solid waste management.
Recently, released Environmental Performance Index report of the World Economic Forum, India ranked at last 180th in terms of 24 performance indicators of climate change performance, environmental health and ecosystem vitality (EPI, 2022). The solid waste management (SWM) is going through a critical phase, due to the lack of awareness and ownership among citizens toward cleanliness, source segregation, mechanism for door to door waste collection, transportation and its processing leading to hazardous impacts on health, environment and economical. Intensive behaviour change awareness activities and capacity building at all level is required for sustainable waste management.
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