Present Status of Waste Management in India and

Recommendations
by Aravind E S, IIT Madras
Storage of waste at source is lacking

Solid Waste Management In India

 Domestic waste thrown on streets

 Trade waste on roads / streets
 Construction waste are left unattended
 Biomedical wastes are disposed into municipal waste stream
 Industrial waste often disposed of in open areas

In waste management, Segregation of recyclable waste not done properly at source. Initial waste
collection not done at place of generation. Design & location of municipal waste storage depots
inappropriate, resulting in littering of garbage . Street sweeping is not done everyday. Waste
transportation is done in open vehicles. Waste processing partially practiced in 35 ulbs only. The
final disposal is done through crude dumping. Waste pickers collect recyclables from municipal
bins and dumpsites and litter the waste causing insanitary conditions.

 India’s Population = 1027 Million (as per 2001 Census)

 Urban Population = 285 Million
 Urban Areas = 5161 (Cities / Towns)

Magnitude Of Problem
 Solid Waste Management

Per capita waste generation increasing by 1.3% per annum. With urban population is increasing
between 3– 3.5% / annum. Annual increase in waste generation is around 5% annually. India
produces 42.0 million tons of municipal solid waste annually at present. Per capita generation of
waste varies from 200 gm to 600 gm per capita / day. Average of waste generation rate is 0.4 kg
per capita per day in 0.1 million plus towns. Collection efficiency is between 50% to 90% of solid
waste generated. Urban Local Bodies spend Rs.500/- to Rs.1500/- per ton on solid waste
management of which, 60-70% of the amount is on collection alone 20% – 30% on
transportation. No fund is spent on treatment and disposal of waste. Crude dumping of this waste is
practiced in most of the cities.
Quantity Of Waste Generation
Total quantity of solid waste Generated in urban areas per day (tpd) Of the country – 1.15 lakh
tonne. Waste generated in 6 mega cities – 21,100 tpd, 18.35%. Waste generated in metro cities (1
million plus towns)- 19,643 tpd , 17.08%. Waste generated in other,Class-i towns(0.1 million plus
towns) 42,635.28 tpd 37.07%. If waste produced in all the class-i cities is tackled, total percentage
of waste scientifically managed would be 72.5% of total waste.
Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste

 Compostable / Bio-degradable = 30% – 55%matter (can be converted into manure)

 Inert material = 40% – 45% (to go to landfill)
 Recyclable materials = 5% – 10% (Recycling)

These percentages differ from city to city depending upon food habits
[crp]
Reasons of Improper Management Of Waste

 Improper planning for waste management while planning the townships

 Impractical institutional set up for waste management and planning and designing in urban local
bodies
 Lack of technical and trained manpower
 Incomplete community involvement
 Less expertise and exposure to the city waste management using modern techniques and best
practices
 Partial awareness creation mechanism
 Outdated Management Information Systems
 Less funds with ULBs
 Indifferent attitudes of ULBs in user charges and sustainability


Ideal Approaches To Waste Management

1. Possible Waste Management Options :

 (a) Waste Minimisation

construction waste recycling

 (b) Material Recycling

 (c) Waste Processing (Resource Recovery)
 (d) Waste Transformation
 (e) Sanitary Landfilling – Limited land availability is a constraint in Metro cities.

2. Processing / Treatment should be :

 (i) Technically sound

 (ii) Financially viable
 (iii) Eco-friendly / Environmental friendly
 (iv) Robust operate & maintain by local community
 (v) Long term sustainability

Approaches To Waste Processing & Disposal

I Wealth From Waste (Processing Of Organic Waste)
(A) Waste To Compost
(I) Aerobic / Anaerobic Composting
(II) Vermi-composting
 (B) Waste To Energy
(I) Refuse Derived Fuel (Rdf) / Pelletization
(Ii) Bio-methanation
II Recycling Of Waste
III Sanitary Landfilling
IV Treating Bio-medical Waste Separately.
Various Technology Options Recommended For Waste Processing
Towns Generating Garbage

 Upto 50 Metric Tons / Day(mt/Day) = Vermi-composting

 Between 50 Mt & 500 Mt / Day = Vermi-composting + Mechanical Composting
 More Than 500 Mt / Day = Mechanical Composting + Refuse Derived Fuel(rdf) From Rejects
Keeping In View The Type Of The City (Industrial Or Non- Industrial) Or Bio-methanation

Initiatives By Government Of India

1. Bio-medical Waste Handling Rules, 1998 – Notified

2. Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000 – Notified.
3. Reforms Agenda (Fiscal, Institutional, Legal)
4. Technical Manual on Municipal Solid Waste Management
5. Technology Advisory Group on Municipal Solid Waste Management
6. Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management from city compost.
7. Tax Free Bonds by ULBs permitted by Government of India
8. Income Tax relief to Waste Management agencies
9. Public-Private Partnership in SWM
10. Capacity Building
11. Urban Reforms Incentive Fund
12. Guidelines for PSP and setting up of Regulatory Authority
13. Introduction of Commercial Accounting System in ULBs & other Sector Reforms
14. Model Municipal Bye-Laws framed / circulated for benefit of ULBs for adoption
15. Financial Assistance by Government of India – 12th Finance Commission Grants

Main issues
– Absence of segregation of waste at source
– lack of technical expertise and appropriate institutional arrangement
– Unwillingness of ulbs to introduce proper collection, segregation, transportation and treatment /
disposal systems
– Indifferent attitude of citizens towards waste management due to lack of awareness
– Lack of community participation towards waste management and hygienic conditions
– Lack of funds with ulbs
Recommendations
– Outsourcing of all activities under Solid Waste Management Services recommended by 12th
Finance Commission for using grants
– ULBs to concentrate on segregation of waste at source
– Waste processing like composting, bio- methanation should be done through public-private
partnerships / private sector
– Final disposal viz. sanitary landfilling to be done under public private partnerships / private sector
– Bio-medical waste to be managed by Central Bio- Medical Waste Management Facilities.

5 Cool Waste Management Ideas From

The World That India Can Adopt
India is among the top 10 countries generating the highest amount of municipal solid waste. If we
don't change our waste management practices now then soon India will be drowning in its own
garbage mess
Plastic Waste, Waste Management

|
Written By: Anisha Bhatia

| May 02, 2017 6:42 PM |

 HIGHLIGHTS

 India generates 62 million tonnes of garbage every year

 More than 45 million tonnes of waste in India remain untreated
 To meet goal of clean India by 2019, it is important to tackle the waste

India is slowly drowning in its own garbage. The rate at which India is currently
generating waste, it is estimated that by 2030, the country will need a landfill almost as big
as the city of Bengaluru to dump its waste. Urban areas alone generate around 62 million
tonnes of garbage every single year, making India the third largest garbage generator in the
world. However, the real issue is not waste generation but the fact that more than 45 million
tonnes of waste in India remain untreated. To truly understand the magnitude of that,
imagine 3 million trucks piled with untreated garbage. The staggering figures establish the
fact that our waste management system is flawed and needs an overhaul.

If we need to meet the goal of a ‘Clean India’ by 2019 then waste management issues
should be dealt with urgently. Providing inspiration, here are 5 innovative ways waste is
being managed across from across the world.
1. Meet Mr Trash Wheel From USA

Make way for Mr Trash Wheel

This solar and water powered trash cleaner collects litter and debris flowing down the
Baltimore River. In the last 3 years this wonder machine has removed 1.1 million pounds of
garbage from the river. This includes 372,650 plastic bottles and 8.9 million cigarette buds.
Baltimore’s success with Mr. Trash Wheel is huge. The harbor is cleaner than it has been in
decades and the credit goes to this eco-friendly machine that is powered by both, the sun
and the strong river current.

So how does this work?

The river’s current provides power to turn the water wheel of this machine that then acts as
a robot to pick up trash and debris from the water. Once collected, the trash is deposited
into a dumpster barge which is built into this machine. When the water current isn’t strong
enough to power the machine, an attached solar panel provides solar power.

Mr Trash Wheel is the perfect example of a how simplicity can be the key to brilliance!

2. Make Way For BigBelly And SmartBelly Bins From Australia: Gone are the days of
good-old garbage bins that only helped in storage. The world is getting smarter! While most
people are grappling with growing waste and litter woes, it seems Australia has found the
perfect solution with the Bigbelly Solar compactor bins and SmartBelly bins. These bins are
smart enough to create extra space for garbage when the bin is full and even segregate the
waste automatically at the point of collection. The SmartBelly bin is also Compostable
Friendly.
Each bin has 600 litres of capacity which means it can hold upto eight times the volume of
common street litter bins or five times the volume of your average 120-litre wheelie bin.

The working of these bins is quite simple. BigBelly works with power from the sun. As
garbage fills up, special sensors placed inside these bins are triggered, resulting in up to
five times more garbage storage space. So, how does that help? More garbage space
means fewer collection trips, lower costs and fewer emissions.

That’s the smart BigBelly bin

The SmartBelly Bin separates and monitors the collection levels of your recyclables at the
point of collection itself. It also helps in the process of composting. The end result – Most of
the waste gets treated.
That’s the Smart BigBelly Bin
One of the major advantages of these bins is that they connect individual bins to garbage
collectors that results in a more efficient management of waste.

3. Germany Is Showing The World How To Deal With The Plastic Menace
Germany’s step towards greener and happier future
Leaf Republic, a company in Germany takes inspiration from India, but with a twist. They
produce plates made of leaves. Yes, you heard it right! After 3 years of extensive research,
the company introduced ‘Leaf Plates’ in order to deal with the growing issues of plastic
pollution. These plates are entirely made of leaves and the company claimed that not a
single tree was cut in the production of these plates. The plates cost 50 cents each and are
100 percent biodegradable. The company has sourced the special creeper leaves from
India and the packaging is inspired by the Asian tradition of stitching the leaves into plates.

There are eco-conscious companies in India too who are trying to make such eco-friendly
and biodegradable plates but the trend still needs to catch on.

4. Brazil Shows How To Redecorate Your House By Reusing Plastic Bottles

Did you know a plastic bottle can take up to 1000 years to decompose? So what if the next
time you have an empty bottle, you use it to beautify your house, instead of throwing it
away. Brazilian design studio Rosenbaum in Brazil did exactly that as they started helping
people redecorate their houses using plastic bottles.

In Pics: 5 Countries That Redefined Waste Management Techniques

5. Columbia Is Giving Rewards To People For Giving Back Their Plastic Waste
Who doesn’t like winning the lottery? Colombia built on this idea and completely changed
the way citizens managed their garbage. They implemented a scheme where anyone who
recycled their plastic was rewarded. The country produces around 28,800 tonnes of solid
waste per day, with 10,000 tonnes of this waste being generated in the main cities of
Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla. They knew they had a serious garbage problem to
deal with, and that’s when the authorities came up with the idea of ECOBOT (Reverse
Vending Machine) – A recycling initiative that encourage people to recycle their waste.

The Vending Machines were installed in popular locations like shopping malls, institutions
and public spaces, and every time someone deposits a plastic bottle or the caps, they
receive restaurant coupons or movie tickets or simply shopping dollars. All the plastic that
the vending machine collects is then sent to recycling plants instead of landfills.

The ‘Rewards for Recycling’ idea is also being tried in India and Mumbai is the first city to
get a ‘Swachh Bharat Recycling Machine.’ Till now, the machines, installed at a few railway
stations, have been hugely successful among the city’s commuters.
Salient features of Start-up Action Plan announced by PM

Lower government involvement in business

Self certification to simplify registration of start-ups

No inspection for three years

Start-up India Hub will provide single point access, can also be done via mobile app

Patent fees for start-ups to be slashed by 80%

Rs. 10,000 crore fund for start-ups on cards @ 2500 crore each each year for the first 4 years

Credit guaranteed fund for start-ups, with contribution of Rs. 500 crore a year

Start-up profits not taxable for first three years

No Capital gains tax for start-ups

Will bring in Bankruptcy Bill in Parliament for faster winding up

Will bring in sector specific incubators

Special schemes for women entrepreneurs on cards

From sewage to new age: Experiencing zen in a

nullah garden of Pune
Ever imagined that a garden could be developed across a nullah?
Sanket Jain Jul 29, 2015
Ever imagined that a garden could be developed across a Nullah? Don’t believe us? We present to
you the Nullah Garden (Osho Teerth Park) of Pune! The Osho Teerth Park has something more to
offer to you than a normal garden.
Developed in 1994, the garden is located in the Koregaon Park area of Pune, which is accessible to
almost entire Pune city. It is a Japanese Zen Garden looked after by the Osho International
Commune. It covers a total area of 5 hectares. One feels the power of purity in these times of
extreme pollution and water contamination.
Before the development of the garden, this area was a barren land with black sludge carrying the
nullah water. Being close to a railway yard, a lot of oil was being dumped into this Nullah. The
human waste from the nearby slum added to the problem. The entire area turned into a breeding
ground for mosquitoes.
In 1989, the Osho Ashram management took over the place and carved a separate niche from this
wasteland. They invited Shunyo Foundation, a Japanese environmental firm, to reinvigorate the
area. Shunyo then brought in Nihar who is a Japanese landscape artist.
How the water is purified

Flowing from North to South, the Nullah discharged 500 gallons of water at a particular point which
one can see even today. Raising a barricade and installing iron grills to catch the floating solid
garbage was the basic governing idea behind the development of the park. The slightly purified
stream was then made to course over the land which allowed maximum oxygenation of water. They
then planted water hyacinth and stocked it with fish such as gambusia and silver carp which eat
pollutants and mosquito larvae. The water was then passed through a sand filter. The oxygenation
and filtering after several developments made the water almost 90 per cent pure, which is perfect for
irrigation and fish culture.

Further, nearly 50,000 truckloads of soil was brought and dumped over the entire area. Several huge
rocks were chiselled into fine shapes. Trees and shrubs which existed on the site were pruned and
others were brought from Bangalore, Vadodara and Kolkata. Buddha statues were installed which
acts as an inspiration to many visitors.
Benefits of developing a garden near a Nullah
Horticulturist Yashwant Khaire, who launched the Parvati nullah garden project says, “Developing a
Nullah garden, helps one get rid of the dirt in the surrounding area and the place is transformed into
a green-zone.”
Nullah Gardens are cost effective unlike developing a modern garden from scratch, where every
factor becomes a vulnerable option if not taken proper care of. The Nullah water is good for plants
and the growth rate is 7 to 8 times faster as compared to the normal rate.
Unique aspects of a Nullah Garden
The water which one can see in the park is not clean water, rather it is the sewage water which is
treated and sanitized. To add to it, it is this sewage water that supports the entire ecosystem! The
best part is that the place doesn’t stink despite being built upon a Nullah.

http://www.novalindia.com/product.php - Link for waste management equipments

Population and Municipal Solid Waste Generation in India

Contents
1. Population
2. Population Growth
3. Impact of Population Growth on Municipal Solid Waste Generation
1. Population
India is the second most populous nation on the planet. The Census of 2011 estimates a population
of 1.21 billion which is 17.66% of the world population. It is as much as the combined population
of USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan. The population of Uttar Pradesh, one
among 28 Indian states is greater than that of Brazil, the fifth most populous nation in the world.
India’s urban population was 285 million in 2001 and increased to 377 million in 2011. Indian urban
population is greater than the total population of USA (308.7 million), the third most populous
nation.
Appendix 1 lists 366 cities which represent 70% of India’s urban population and generate 130,000
tons per day (TPD) or 47.2 million tons per year (TPY) at a per capita waste generation rate of 500
grams/day. This implies the total MSW generated by urban India could be as much as 188,500 TPD
or 68.8 million TPY. This number matches the projection (65 million TPY in 2010) by Sunil Kumar,
et al. Therefore, this report assumes that the quantum of waste generated by urban India to be
68.8 million TPY. The general consensus on amount of waste generated by urban India is 50 million
TPY, which is very low in comparison to the current findings.
Figure 8. Total Population and Urban Population Growth in India
2. Population Growth
Indian population increased by more than 181 million during 2001 – 2011, a 17.64% increase in
population, since 2001. Even though this was the sharpest decline in population growth rate
registered post-Independence the absolute addition during 2001-2011 is almost as much as the
population of Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world.
It is clear that the scale of populations dealt with in case of India and China are entirely different
from any other country in the world. Indian urban population increased by 31.8 % during 2001 –
2011, which implies an annual growth rate of 2.8% during this period.
Figure 9. The urbanization trend in India
3. Impact of Population Growth on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Generation
Population growth and rapid urbanization means bigger and denser cities and increased MSW
generation in each city. The data compiled for this report indicates that 366 cities in India were
generating 31.6 million tons of waste in 2001 and are currently generating 47.3 million tons, a 50%
increase in one decade. It is estimated that these 366 cities will generate 161 million tons of MSW
in 2041, a five-fold increase in four decades. At this rate the total urban MSW generated in 2041
would be 230 million TPY (630,000 TPD).
Table 7, Population Growth and Impact on Overall Urban Waste Generation and
Future Predictions until 2041:
Year Population (Millions) Per Capita Total Waste
generation Thousand
Tons/year
2001 197.3 0.439 31.63
2011 260.1 0.498 47.3
2021 342.8 0.569 71.15
2031 451.8 0.649 107.01
2036 518.6 0.693 131.24
2041 595.4 0.741 160.96
MSW Rules 2000 mandate “landfills should always be located away from habitation clusters and
other places of social, economic or environmental importance”, which implies lands outside the
city. Therefore, increase in MSW will have significant impacts in terms of land required for
disposing the waste as it gets more difficult to site landfills. Farther the landfill gets from the
point of waste generation (city), greater will be the waste transportation cost. The solution to
reducing these costs and alternatives to landfilling are discussed in detail in further sections.
Table 8, Area of Land Occupied/Required for unsanitary disposal of municipal solid
waste (MSW) generated in India:
Years Area of Land
Occupied/Required for MSW
Disposal (sq.km)
City Equivalents
1947 – 2001 240 50% of Mumbai
1947 - 2011 380 90% of Chennai
1947 - 2021 590 Hyderabad
2009 – 2047 1400 Hyderabad + Mumbai + Chennai
A 1998 study by TERI (The Energy Resources Institute, earlier Tata Energy Research Institute)
titled ‘Solid Waste Management in India: options and opportunities’ calculated the amount of land
that was occupied by waste disposed post independence, until 1997. The study compared the land
occupied in multiples of the size of a football field and arrived at 71,000 football fields of solid
waste, stacked 9 meters high. Based on a business as usual (BAU) scenario of 91% landfilling, the
study estimates that the waste generated by 2001 would have occupied 240 sq.km or an area half
the size of Mumbai; waste generated by 2011 would have occupied 380 sq.km or about 220,000
football fields or 90% of Chennai, the fourth biggest Indian city area-wise; waste generated by
2021 would need 590 sq.km which is greater than the area of Hyderabad (583 sq.km), the largest
Indian city, area-wise. The Position Paper on The Solid Waste Management Sector in India,
published by Ministry of Finance in 2009, estimates a requirement of more than 1400 sq.km of
land for solid waste disposal by the end of 2047 if MSW is not properly handled and is equal to the
area of Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai together.
Source: http://swmindia.blogspot.in/2012/07/population-and-municipal-solid-waste.html