1

Solid Waste Management Practices in Indian Cities

Introduction:
Solid waste management is a significant challenge in Indian cities, with the country
generating over 62 million tons of waste annually, and only 43 million tons being
collected, out of which a mere 12 million tons are treated . The remaining 31 million
tons are discarded in landfills, posing severe environmental and health risks

The solid waste management sector in India has witnessed significant growth in
recent years due to the government’s push towards cleanliness and sanitation.
Increasing population and rapid urbanization have resulted in a substantial increase
in the amount of waste generated, leading to the need for efficient and sustainable
waste management practices

India faces challenges in managing waste. The informal sector plays a significant
role in extracting value from waste, but many challenges remain.

Rapid urbanization: Urban areas with 377 million people generate about 62 million
tons of solid waste every year. However, only 43 million tons are collected, and the
rest ends up untreated or in landfills.

E-waste is also a growing concern, with projections showing a substantial increase

in e-waste generation.

Lack of adequate garbage collection infrastructure, with only 21 million garbage

collectors compared to China’s 700 million.

Sorting recyclable materials is also a problem, as only about 30% of waste is

properly sorted, leading valuable materials like aluminum and plastics to end up in
landfills instead of being recycled.

2
 Government or legal intervention

Scientific studies and planning: It means understanding the type of waste, the costs
involved, and the best locations for disposal facilities.
India needs to invest in innovative technologies and develop a better recycling
infrastructure.
Improve waste collection: India has more frequent services, use machines to collect
waste, and coordinates the timing of collection with waste generation.
Combining informal and formal waste collection sectors: This will help with
segregation and collection. Other ways to improve include decentralized waste
Challenges:

1.Lack of infrastructure

2.Insufficient funding

3.Public awareness and participation

4.Inadequate policy enforcement

5.Waste generation rates

Recommendations:

1.Strengthen policy enforcement

2.Increase public awareness and education

3.Improve waste infrastructure

4.Encourage public-private partnerships

5.Promote decentralized waste management

Effective implementation of these initiatives requires coordination among

government agencies, municipalities, and citizens to address the complex
challenges of solid waste management in Indian cities.

3
 Government Initiatives:
The Indian government has launched several initiatives to address these challenges,
including:
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: A nationwide cleanliness drive aimed at improving
sanitation and waste management .
Solid Waste Management Rules (2016): Guidelines for segregation, collection, and
disposal of waste .
Public-Private Partnerships: Collaborations between government agencies and
private companies to improve waste management services .

Successful Models:
Some Indian cities have implemented effective waste management systems, such
as:
Pune's Swach Co-op: A citizen-led initiative promoting waste segregation and
recycling ².
Bangalore's Solid Waste Management Round Table: A public-private partnership
focused on improving waste management infrastructure .

These models demonstrate the potential for effective solid waste management in
Indian cities, but more needs to be done to address the scale and complexity of the
challenge.
Government and legal interventions play a crucial role in solid waste management
(SWM) practices in Indian cities. Here are some key initiatives:

Government Initiatives:

1.Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (2014): National cleanliness mission aiming to make

India open-defecation free and promote waste management.
2.Solid Waste Management Rules (2016): Revised rules for effective waste
management, including segregation, collection, and disposal.

4
3.National Clean Energy and Environment Policy (2014): Encourages
wastetoenergy and recycling.
4.Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): Focuses on
improving urban infrastructure, including SWM.

5.Smart Cities Mission: Includes SWM as a key component.

Legal Framework:

1.Environment (Protection) Act, 1986: Regulates environmental pollution,

including waste management.
2.Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000: Guidelines for
waste collection, segregation, and disposal.
3.Waste Management Rules, 2016: Replaces previous rules, emphasizing waste
minimization and recycling.
4.Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991: Ensures compensation for waste-related
damages.

State-Level Initiatives:

1.Kerala: Implemented waste-to-energy plants and decentralized

waste management systems.

2.Maharashtra: Implemented waste segregation and recycling programs.

3.Tamil Nadu: Implemented waste-to-energy plants and waste management parks.

Municipal-Level Initiatives:

1.Door-to-door collection: Implemented in many cities.

2.Waste segregation: Encouraged through awareness campaigns.

3.Waste-to-compost: Many cities have composting facilities.

5
4.Public-private partnerships: Collaborations for waste management services.

Challenges:

1. Lack of infrastructure
2. Insufficient funding

3. Public awareness and participation

4. Inadequate policy enforcement

5. Waste generation rates

Recommendations:

1. Strengthen policy enforcement

2. Increase public awareness and education

3. Improve waste infrastructure

4. Encourage public-private partnerships

5. Promote decentralized waste management

Effective implementation of these initiatives requires coordination among

government agencies,
municipalities, and citizens to address the complex challenges of solid waste
management in Indian cities.

management, where local communities take care of waste treatment, and promoting
recycling by implementing supportive policies and regulations.
Treating organic waste through composting and bio-methanation can reduce the
amount going to landfills.

6
Converting existing dumps into sanitary landfills: but this requires proper funding
and expertise.
Integrating technology like RFID-enabled monitoring and GPS tracking can also
help in efficient waste management.
Waste-to-energy methods like bio-methanation can convert organic waste into fuel,
which is beneficial.
The concept of common waste treatment facilities is being promoted, involving
public-private partnerships. The country needs to ensure proper treatment
facilities for biomedical and hazardous waste.
Strictly implementing waste management rules, especially the “Polluter Pays
Principle,” is crucial to penalize those who don’t comply.
Public awareness: India needs to educate people through community organizations
and self-help groups about separating waste, recycling, and composting to make
the process more effective and sustainable.

Case Study of Mumbai: Decentralized Solid Waste Management

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), spread over 4,355sq. km is home to seven

municipal corporations. All Municipal Corporations in India are mandated to look
into solid waste management in their functional domains under the 74th
Constitutional Amendment. At present, all the seven municipal corporations
depend upon centralized means of managing waste which is dumped at assigned
landfills post collection. Apart from the corporation, there are multiple players
who play a crucial role in managing the waste. Much of this is managed by
informal sector and now emerging recyclers who are setting up processes for
decentralized waste management.
This paper explores the scale at which different institutions/communities have
taken efforts to successfully manage their waste. Most people are unable to
achieve 100% decentralized management due to lack of appropriate channels for
managing rejects and sanitary waste. More importantly, it is imperative to
understand the failure and limitations of the municipal corporation since they are
financially dependent on the centre and state for their functioning. But despite all
those constraints, it makes sense to gauge energy and material recovery potentials
and correlate to municipal waste management. By means of different examples
and a technology provider for bio-medical waste, we are able to make an impact
towards creating greener, sustainable communities.

7
Initiative:

1.⁠ ⁠Source Segregation: Residents were educated to separate organic and inorganic
waste.
2.⁠ ⁠Community Composting: 10 community composting centers were set up, each
serving 5,000 households.
3.⁠ ⁠Partnership: BMC partnered with Stree Mukti Sanghatana, an NGO, for
implementation and community engagement.

Outcomes:

1.⁠ ⁠Organic Waste Reduction: 30% reduction in organic waste sent to landfills.
2.⁠ ⁠Composting Rate: 25% of organic waste converted into compost.
3.⁠ ⁠Community Engagement: 80% of residents participate in source segregation. 4.⁠
⁠Cost Savings: BMC saves ₹50 lakhs (approximately $67,000 USD) annually on
transportation costs.

The city of Mumbai is spilt into two parts- Greater Mumbai and the region
surrounding it. The entire regioncalled the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
is governed by a group of Municipal Corporations. The various municipal
corporations in MMR are Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM),
Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation,
Ulhas Nagar Municipal Corporation, Kalyan - Dombivili Municipal Corportaion,
Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation and Vasai-Virar Municipal
Corporation. All municipal corporations look after the basic sanitation facilities
provided to the citizens under the 74th Constitutional Amendment that gives
municipal corporations these powers. This paper looks at examples from MCGM
and TMC. The city interacts with all its stakeholders to manage the waste
effectively. The nexus between the government agencies, technology, recyclers,
citizens/residents, waste pickers create the circle for effective waste management
of the city in a centralised and/or decentralised manner. Centralised mechanisms
have known to fail at scale, largely because of the complexity that this linear
system poses. From door-to-door collection to mere dumping of waste in
overflooded landfills leaves very little space for effective management of mixed
waste. In simpler terms, the linear system of waste dumping highlights that waste
is in fact, mismanaged. This system is also largely characterised by tenders floated
for collection and the rising price spent on transportation. MCGM budgets INR
2232 Cr. for waste management in the current FY 2015-2016. Decentralised
systems however run on smaller, but manageable scales. The concept of YIMB

8
Yenables processing and storage of waste thereby increasing its value. The link of
such high value waste is noticed with the waste traders or ‘Raddiwallahs’ who are
seen almost in every nook and corner of our cities. The existing network of such
traders and informal workers create an unofficial knowledge pool that assesses the
worth of waste.

Future Directions:

1.⁠ ⁠Scaling up: Expand initiative to other wards.

2.⁠ ⁠Technology Integration: Explore innovative composting technologies. 3.⁠ ⁠Policy
Enhancements: Strengthen waste management policies.

This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of decentralized solid waste

management in reducing waste, increasing recycling, and engaging communities.

Methodology:
In this paper, we explore the case study of Mumbai and adjoining area of Thane,
where various attempts are made by citizens and organisations to make an effort to
manage their waste in a decentralised manner. The sampling of the report has case
studies of one active citizen; two housing complexes (that have 25 and 210 flats
respectively); a 50 flat apartment complex (that has flourished to growing their
own food); an industrial colony (with their own residential space); a college (that
efficiently segregates examination papers); and a Bio-Medical Waste Management
Plant (that funds sustainability projects). Each of them are lessons to prove that
the notion of decentralised waste

Case Studies :
Subhash Rane, a retired professional from Siemens India took up to changing the
face of his locality after he noticed garbage on the streets during his morning
walk. He requested the local authorities to collect the garbage. Over subsequent
months, he kept repeating this exercise and coordinated with the ward officials
ensuring waste pick-ups in his ward (Budget). He noticed that there was no
coordination of citizens with the ward officers to manage effective pick up. Soon,
he became the factotum for the community in regards to waste pick-ups.
According to the Bye-Laws of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, if
the area has door to door collection, then there is no need for a common
community bin (MCGM, 2006). So he eliminated them streetwise and at the same
time ensured regular pick up. Over time, he has strategically killed the dumping

9
spots with the help of shop owners, residents and other proactive citizens. By
adhering to these rules, Subhash Rane bridged the gap between the Municipal
Corporation and the citizens. As a nodal contact for Ward 41, Mr. Rane is now
trying to make it a zero waste ward by requesting separate trucks for collecting
wet and dry waste.

The Microbiology Department at Sathaye College has been managing its

biodegradable waste for the last seven years. When the experiment started, Prof.
Kudva (Professor in charge) gathered little information about setting up
avermicomposting system for the leaf litter of their college. So this quest of setting
up the vermi-composting bin, included a lot of trial and error for its functioning.
The end result of this process was a 6 x 3 pit, designed using scrap material that
was readily available in their backyards. The cover of the pit is made from old
windows that close the compost pit while aerating it from above.

The worms were bought from a local nursery with an initial investment of INR 300.
The campus’ horticulture waste and the vegetable peels from their canteen
kickstarted the process. The only other expense apart from worms, was the
construction of the pit which at a cost of INR 30,000. The compost generated from
the pit, is consumed on campus as manure for its green cover. The campus generates
a lot of paper waste from examination answer sheets that are stored up to three years
as per the University norms. That left them thinking how to discard this paper waste
discreetly alumni- Laxmikanth Deshpande approached them with his new venture
called Recyclekaro.com. For the past three years, Recyclekaro.com picks up the
paper and E-waste. High value waste – bottles, other plastic waste and waste
cardboard are picked up by the local waste-pickers. At the same time, the science
labs also send their equipment for recycling with a local informal vendor. In
addition to this, there is a push against bottled water on campus. Water filters are
installed on every floor and regularly maintained. The college’s Principal Smt.
Kavita Rege asserts, “Students are constantly changing in our college. If we do not
constantly provide the guidance that they need, the students will never be
encouraged to think and take measures to be eco-friendly in their daily lives.” This
strong leadership from the Principal and her staff keep the systems in place.

10
Lessons Learned:

1.⁠ ⁠Community Ownership: Crucial for successful waste management.

2.⁠ ⁠Women's Empowerment: Waste management as a tool for economic
empowerment.

3.⁠ ⁠Partnerships: Collaboration with BMC and private sector.

Statistics Analysis of Annual per Capita Cost of Solid Waste

Management:
annual per capita cost of municipal solid waste management ranges from Rs 204 to
Rs 900 for capital investment and from Rs 113 to Rs 269 for operation and
maintenance.

-+

Awards and Recognition:

1.⁠ ⁠UNEP's Sasakawa Environment Prize (2012)

2.⁠ ⁠Indian Government's Padma Shri Award (2015)

11
This waste, at an average cost of Rs 1,000 per tonne, saves approximately Rs
10.7 crore per day. Waste minimisation results in savings, which accumulate
through avoided collection, treatment and disposal costs.

Trends and Observations:

1. ⁠ Urbanization: Increasing urban population leads to higher waste ⁠

generation and management costs.

2. ⁠ Economic Growth: Rising income levels result in increased

consumption ⁠ and waste generation.

3. ⁠ Waste Composition: Changes in waste composition (e.g., more

plastic, ⁠ less organic) affect management costs.

4. ⁠ Technology Adoption: Implementing efficient waste management ⁠

technologies can reduce costs.

Conclusion:
Human ways of life have placed pressure on the environment and have caused
imbalance in the eco systems by the producing, consuming and wasting of natural
resources. Most countries evidently have major effects on the environment due to
SW generation with economic development since the natural resources are used,
and waste and pollution are produced. Therefore, the concern towards the
management of solid waste as an integral part for sustainable development has
increased.

This study explored the importance of SWM for sustainable development with the
concern of new development process in HMC in Sri Lanka. There were four
research objectives to be achieved with the study. The first objective was to study
the characteristics of solid waste management practices in Hambantota Municipal
council. The researcher investigated the environmental impacts of solid waste
management practices in Hambantota Municipal council and assessed how waste
management practices can contribute to sustain the development processes in
Hambantota District. Establishing an understanding of the perception amongst local

12
communities regarding solid waste management for sound environmental
development was also a concern.

In summary, the research findings revealed that there are significant issues with
unauthorized waste disposal practices due to the lack of proper waste management
process. This has significantly impacted on the natural environment and on Sound
Environmental Development (SED) in the study area. The lack of Public waste bins
and proper waste collection processes have significantly affected the unauthorized
waste disposal practices. Moreover, the absence of sanitary land filling and
inadequate processes by HISWMC are significant issues with SWM. The absence
of practical usage of regulation and laws is identified as a barrier to residents
engaging in proper waste management processes with recycling and waste
separation because the council could not enforce these practices. The lacks of
knowledge, awareness and cooperation have been identified.
India-specific:
•⁠ ⁠A study by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
estimated the annual per capita cost of solid waste management in India to be
around ₹1,200-$1,500 (approximately $17-$22 USD).
•⁠ ⁠Another study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute
(NEERI) estimated the annual per capita cost to be around ₹2,000-$2,500
(approximately $28-$37 USD).
It is clear that improper waste management practices have a significant impact on the
natural environment and sustainable development in the study area. Thus, awareness
about SWM impact on sound environmental development or/and sustainable
development in seemingly low. Therefore, it is important that the SWM should be
developed from the primary level. Waste storage and primary disposal are the
dominant means of managing waste. Thus, it has caused significant challenges in the
study area. Therefore, waste separation from the household level, proper storage,
more efficient waste collection systems, and sustainable recovery and disposal
practices are identified as needed processes in the study area. Considering the nature
and components of waste generated by households and business places, the waste
reduction, reuse, recycling and composting processes would be more suitable in
managing the challenge. These management options should be integrated in a
sustainable framework. Adequate consideration should be given to monitoring
processes. Public education and properly planned waste management programs also
need to be introduced into the current waste management system. Especially
awareness programmes must be conducted in order to improve the knowledge about
the importance of SWM for sound environmental development in the area. The

13
authorities should provide for the introduction of complimentary programs and policy
development.

Bibliography:
Books:

1.⁠ ⁠"Solid Waste Management: Principles and Practice" by T. A. Kalamdhad and

A. K. Singh (Springer, 2018)
2.⁠ ⁠"Waste Management: A Guide for Municipal Officials" by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2019) 3.⁠ ⁠"Solid Waste Management in
Developing Countries" by A. K. Sharma and S.
K. Gupta (CRC Press, 2017)

Journal Articles:

1.⁠ ⁠"Solid Waste Management in India: A Review" by S. K. Singh et al., Journal of

Environmental Science and Health, Part B (2019)
2.⁠ ⁠"Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries: A Case
Study of Mumbai" by A. K. Sharma et al., Waste Management & Research
(2018) 3.⁠ ⁠"Assessment of Solid Waste Management Practices in Indian Cities"
by T. A. Kalamdhad et al., Journal of Cleaner Production (2017)

Reports:
1.⁠ ⁠"What a Waste 2.0: A Global Update on Waste Management" by the World Bank
(2012)
2.⁠ ⁠"Solid Waste Management in India: A Status Report" by the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC, 2019)
3.⁠ ⁠"Waste Management in India: Challenges and Opportunities" by the National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI, 2018)

14
Appendix 1: Air minimum and maximum concentration:

i Detailed tables or graphs showing waste generation rates across

major Indian cities.
ii Analysis of annual per capita cost of solid waste generation.
iii Appendix B: parametric estimation Analysis.

iv Summary of waste composition by area.

v Data from studies or surveys conducted in areas regarding the

summary of solid waste.

Annexures:

i. Annexure A: Survey Instruments

Copies of questionnaires or survey instruments used in studies or
assessments related to solid waste.
ii. Annexure B: Statistics diagrams
The diagrams which are used is taken from used Peer - Reviewed
Articles and Google.

15