1. 40
International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832, (Print), E-ISSN- 2320-5474, July, 2013 VOL-V * ISSUE -54
Our activities create waste, and the ways by which it is
handled , stored, collected, and disposed of can pose
risks to the environment and to public health, because
there is no Solid waste management (SWM) in India
especially in rural areas . Solid Waste management
includes all activities that seek to minimize health, en-
vironmental, and aesthetic impacts of solid waste. In
urban areas, especially in the rapidly urbanizing cities
of the developing world, problems and issues of mu-
nicipalsolidwastemanagement(MSWM)areofimme-
diateimportance.Thispaperaddressestheproblemby
focusing on India. A country such as India, with its
higheconomicgrowthandrapidurbanization,requires
immediatesolutionstotheproblemsrelatedtomisman-
agement of urban waste. We need to improve their
SWMsystems.Accordingtothecensusof2001 India's
population in 2001 was 1027 million and the urban
population was 285 million, according to an indepen-
dent study per capita waste generation is increased by
1.3%perannumandwithurbanpopulationisincreased
about 3- 3.5 % per annum. These trends I think are
sufficient for the assumption of the magnitude of this
problem.
MunicipalwasteDefinition
Any waste collected by or on the order of
municipalities' falls under the definition of municipal
waste. According to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), municipal
waste is "waste from households, including bulky
waste, similar waste from commerce and trade, office
buildings, institutions and small businesses, yard and
garden waste, street sweepings.
Environmentalissuesassociatedwithmunici-
pal waste Municipal waste lead to different environ-
mental problems which including habitat destruction,
pollution ofsurface andground water, and otherforms
of air, soil, and water contamination. Incineration cre-
ates toxic substances, while landfills emit methane
(whichcontributestoglobalwarming)andothergases.
DoesIndiamanageitsmunicipalwasteinasustainable
way? Within each province, individual municipalities
areresponsibleforwastemanagementprograms.Land
fillingisstillthemostcommonwayto disposeofwaste
in India. Most municipal waste goes to landfill, with
Research Paper -Environmental Science
July, 2013
MunicipalWasteProblem-ABigTrouble
*Neeraj Kumar
*J.V.M.G.R.R.(P.G.)College,DepartmentofEnvironmentalScience,CharkhiDadri
only a small percentage incinerated Environmental
concerns about landfills includethe leachate and land-
fill gases that contaminate groundwater and surface
water and contribute to climate change.
Municipalities are consequently faced with finding a
viable and sustainable location for waste disposal.
many residents are opposed to having landfills close
to their communities because this not only produce
different types of pollution like Air pollution, Land
Pollution and water pollution but also create an un-
pleasant sight.
Composition
The composition of municipal waste varies
greatly from country to country and changes signifi-
cantly with time. Most definitions of municipal solid
waste do not include industrial wastes, agricultural
wastes, medical waste, radioactive waste or sewage
sludgeWastecollectionisperformedbythemunicipal-
ity within a given area. The term residual waste relates
to waste left from household sources containing mate-
rials that have not been separated out or sent for repro-
cessing. Waste can be classified in several ways but
the following list represents a typical classification:
• Biodegradablewaste:foodandkitchenwaste,green
waste, paper (can also be recycled).
• Recyclable material: paper, glass, bottles, cans,
metals, certain plastics, fabrics, clothes, batteries
etc.
• Inertwaste:constructionanddemolitionwaste,dirt,
rocks, debris.
• Electricaland electronicwaste(WEEE)-electrical
appliances, TVs, computers, screens, etc.
• Composite wastes: waste clothing, Tetra Packs,
waste plastics such as toys.
• Hazardous waste including most paints, chemicals,
light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, spray cans, fertilizer
and containers
• Toxic waste including pesticide, herbicides, fungi
cides
• Medical waste.
• Waste handling and separation, storage and pro
cessing at the source

2. 41SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN
International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, ISSN 0974-2832, (Print), E-ISSN- 2320-5474, July, 2013 VOL-V * ISSUE -54
• Waste handling and separation involves activities
associated with waste management until the waste is
placed in storage containers for collection. Handling
also encompasses the movement of loaded containers
to the point ofcollection. Separating different types of
waste components is an important step in the handling
and storage of solid waste at the source.
Separationandprocessingandtransformationofsolid
wastes
• The types of means and facilities that are now used
for the recovery of waste materials that have been
separated at the source include curb side collection,
drop off and buy back centres. The separation and
processing of wastes that have been separated at the
source and the separation of commingled wastes usu-
ally occur at a materials recovery facility, transfer sta-
tions, combustion facilities and disposal sites.
Transferandtransport
•Thiselementinvolvestwomainsteps.First,thewaste
istransferredfromasmallercollectionvehicletolarger
transport equipment. The waste is then transported,
1 Vergara, S. E.; Tchobanoglous, G. (2012). "Municipal Solid Waste and the Environment: A Global Perspective". Annual
Review of Environment and Resources 37: 277. doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-050511-122532.
2 Mechanical Biological Treatment Welsh Assembly (2005) Mechanical Biological Treatment, Environment Countryside
and Planning Website, Welsh Assembly
3 Ahsan, N., 1999. Solid waste management plan for Indian megacities. Indian Journal Of Environmental Protection 19
(2), 90-95.
4 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2004. Management of Municipal Solid Waste. Ministry of Environment and
Forests, New Delhi, India.
usually over long distances, to a processing or dis-
posal site.
Disposal
Itisthelaststepofwastemanagementsystem
which includes the final dispose off of the waste mate-
rial.
Presentstatusofwastemanagement
One of themain and basic problemis storage
and segregation of waste material is not done at source
of generation .Others are that domestic waste thrown
on streets , construction debris left unattended, Bio-
medical waste is being disposed in municipal waste
stream, Industrial waste is also disposed of in open
areas. Design and location of municipal waste storage
depots is inappropriate which results into littering of
garbage and final disposal is done through crude
dumping.
Recommendedapproachestowastemanagement
•Compostformationwhichincludesvermicompostetc.
• Another option is thatenergygeneration from waste.
• Treatment of Bio-medical waste separately.
• Sanitary landfill.
R E F E R E N C E