Present Scenario of Waste Management in India

In India, approach towards waste management is unscientific. Even today, large portion of solid waste is dumped indiscriminately on outskirts of places without any prior treatment leading to groundwater contamination and increase in air pollution. Resource recovery from waste and safe disposal of residual in scientifically designed landfills are grossly neglected. The present system is focused on collection and transportation of largely mixed unsegregated waste for sustainable solid waste management, but the capacity to plan and manage the system and ensure the enforcement of rules is a major challenge. This study analyses current scenario of waste management in India. Besides presenting few mitigation choices to respond to the growing challenge, it also suggests mechanisms for ensuring integrated waste management systems.


Introduction
Generation of waste is a natural phenomenon. Despite social, economic and environmental development, there is a long way to implement an effective solid waste management (SWM) practice. A substantial amount of municipal waste and industrial waste is extremely dangerous to the living organisms (Misra & Pandey, 2005). SW is expected to increase significantly in near future as India strives to attain an industrialized nation status (Sharma & Shah, 2005). Therefore, there is an urgent need to move to more sustainable SWM with new management systems and facilities. Developed countries manage their wastes with advanced facilities, competent government institutions and bureaucracies. Developing countries like India are still in the transition towards better waste management (WM). Current SWM systems having negative impact on public health, environment and economy need clear government policies and competent bureaucracies especially in countries having rapid population growth. This paper comprehensively reviews current status of WM in India and makes an attempt to track various issues concerning waste streams as on date.

Objectives of the Paper
The prime objectives of the study are to-▪ Present the current status of WM in India ▪ Carry out analysis showing the reasons of improper WM ▪ Offer suggestions to overcome the same.

Data and Research Methodology
The study basically depends on secondary data. The researcher, being an external analyst, has to depend mainly on current literature available on the issue in the form of books, journals, articles, research studies, websites, etc. for the examination of current status of WM. Editing, classification and tabulation of data collected from these sources have been done as per requirement of the study. Different statistical techniques and tools have also been applied for the purpose of the analysis.

Literature Survey
Sharholy et al., (2007) in their report over municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Indian cities discussed about the different aspects of disposals and treatment of MSW. They suggested to work towards further improvement of the present system. Talyan et al., (2008) observed the policies and initiatives of the Government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi and suggested to improve the existing MSWM system. Kumar & Goel, (2009) examined MSWM practices with various parameters. They proposed integrated SWM plan and augmentation in labor and vehicle inventory for better treatment and disposal facilities. Narayan (2008) in his report on landfills, incineration and composting practices in India from MSWM identified the most economical and best option possible to combat the waste disposal problem. Unnikrishnan & Singh (2010) focused on clean development mechanism (CDM) projects and the CDM opportunities in India and revealed in comparative study between Brazil and India that India does not have well designed sanitary landfills. India should make conscious efforts towards developing more scientific landfills, capture methane and take carbon credits. Vij (2012) in the report on SWM assessed the current practices of SW and the problems associated with it and suggested measures to conduct this waste in healthy and environment friendly manner to prove resource instead of waste.
5.Waste Management (Or Wm) -Concept 'Waste Management' collectively means management of waste from its inception to its final disposal. Thus, WM includes collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste along with its monitoring and regulation. All kinds of wastes, right from municipal waste to agricultural waste to hazardous residues and special wastes such as sludge, health care wastes come under one umbrella. Industrialization along with rapid urbanization witnesses building up of waste. Efficient WM implies full exploration for final disposal of waste.

Magnitude of Problem
India is suffering from acute increase in waste generation. Collection efficiency is not much developed. Crude dumping is practiced everywhere. Sound waste management can tackle waste production scientifically. Types of SW depend on its source, composition, phase, treatment, etc. (Table-1).    India has rapid urbanization with physical, climatic, geographical, ecological, social, cultural and linguistic diversity (Table 4). In fact, people still throw household waste without following proper WM channel; few industries dump its wastes illegally and lack of awareness is still there. Besides, nuclear waste is important for its adverse environmental impact.

Statistics on Waste Generation and Waste Characterization
Estimating and forecasting of waste generation and its characteristics is fundamental to successful WM planning. India generates a large amount of SW per day; but collection and treatment is not enough. SW generation per capita in India ranges from about 0.17 kg per person per day in small towns to about 0.62 kg per person per day in cities (Kumar & Goel, 2009). Waste generation depends on population density, economic status, commercial activity, culture and region.

Waste Characterization Data
Waste composition has a significant impact on WM practices. Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rule governs MSW which contains hazardous wastes, compostable organics waste, healthcare waste, etc. Households and inert waste from construction, demolition and road sweeping generate organic waste. Waste samples collected from different cities shows varied MSW composition. Average (%by weight) composition of MSW in Indian metro cities is found to be compostable (41), inert (40), paper (6), plastic (4), glass (2), metals (2), textile (4) and leather (1) respectively (Sharholy et al., 2007). Rag-pickers and recyclers of neighborhood in processing waste reduces waste headed to landfill and prevents rag-pickers from having to rummage through waste. Onus lies with the citizens. The citizens have to follow few basic steps in disposing waste such as collection, segregation, dumping, composting, drainage, treatment of effluents before discharge, etc.

Waste Management in India
Less than 60% of waste is collected from households and only 15% of urban India's waste is processed in the country (PIB, 2016). Collection vs. dumped position is exhibited in Figure 2).

Prediction on Future Waste Growth
Asia shares about one-third of expected world waste with major contributions from China and India by 2050. Waste in urban areas increase due to population and lifestyle. In 2011, urban India generated 47.30 million tons of waste and by 2036, it is predicted to be 131.2 million tons, a fivefold increase (Table 5).  Table 6 shows state-wise waste collection of India.  Source: Gupta et al., 1998;Khan, 1994

Waste Disposal Options
Waste disposal is at critical stage in India. Well-engineered waste disposal saves public health and preserves key environmental resources. Important disposal options available are: i) Non-engineered Disposal-In many Indian cities, poorly managed and commonly practiced dumping give birth to acute environmental degradation and public health. Above 90% of SW in cities and towns are directly disposed on land in an unsatisfactory manner (Sharholy et al., 2008). ii) Sanitary Land filling-Sanitary land filling option avoids harmful effects of uncontrolled dumping, minimizes surface water and gas escaping from waste. Engineered landfill allows safe disposal of residual and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and slope instability issues. However, land filling is the most widely adopted practice in India to ensure sanitary land filling (Kansal, 2002). iii) Composting: Many largescale compost plants have been set up in major cities and towns. Compost has very high agricultural value (Tchobanoglous et al., 1977). iv) Incineration: In India, incineration is usually limited to hospital and other biological wastes for high organic material, moisture contact and low calorific value (Kansal, 2002;Bhide & Shekdar, 1998). v)Vermicomposting Municipal Solid Waste: In this method, earthworms feeding on organic matters in SW convert into casting rich in plant nutrients. vi) Reuse and Recycling of Waste materials: Reuse and recycling minimize waste by converting discarded materials into useful products. Hierarchical Process having 3R's, namely, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is the cornerstone of WM strategies. The basic principle lying is that all the generated residues are utilized to maximum while only a minimal amount of waste is left for resourcefully reusing through other viable channels (Table 9).  (Misra & Pandey, 2005). The state governments have taken initiative to ban plastic carry bags and electronic goods for better disposal. Unlike European countries, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept has not become successful in India. Vehicle management has become a challenge to tackle the issue. CPCB (2012) has published 'Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of 'End-of-Life Vehicles' (ELV)" to solve adverse impact of vehicles on environment. Table 10 shows benchmark set by the Government. India having vast population with growing economy cannot afford to effective WM. Policy framework is available on paper; but ground reality is alarming. The Government has taken initiatives; still there is a long journey to travel to achieve desired results. 'Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan' also known as 'Clean India Mission' is a bold step to awaken citizens about the importance of WM approach. The Government has also opened its doors for private sector. Public-Private-Partnership (PPP)Model can help generating revenues and eventually competency level for effective SWM. However, lacking finance, public support and institutional deficiency create obstacles. India has adopted the following legislations to strengthen her hands of administration about major waste streams (Table-11).

Rapid Urbanization
Unplanned urbanization increases pollution level and environmental degradation. Reverse flow of money encourages residents generating more trash and also making dumping a more popular option to recycling or composting. Thus, all stakeholders need to be incentivized to maximize collection, minimize dumping and maximize composting and recycling operations. India needs a paradigm shift from dumping based approach to efficient utilization of construction and demolition (C & D) waste. C & D waste recycled to replace natural building material is beneficial for environment and also saves substantial costs and resources. About

Challenges in India
Collection, segregation, insufficient land, dumping, unawareness, etc. are key issues and challenges in India. Simple dumping cannot mobilize financial resources for expensive technology. A closer look at the scenario reveals that waste needs to be treated holistically. Urban migration and density of population can make WM a difficult issue in future. Although there have been a variety of policy responses to the its problem, sustainable solutions to either organic or inorganic waste still remain unattended. Recycling is the most economically viable option for employment opportunity to the urban poor. Critical issues like industry responsibility, sustainable recycling and catalyzing waste reduction have not been touched upon sufficiently. Every kind of material used for packaging cannot be recycled in the low-end technology. Besides, safety provisions of the waste-pickers and workers are very poor. Modern technology can deal with urban waste problem. Developed countries are doing away with incinerators because of high costs. But developing countries have become potential markets for dumping such technologies. Table-12 outlines major waste stream, its block and offers recommendations for sound WM:

Further Suggestions
▪ Technical aspects should make strategy for planning and its implementation according to situation of the country. ▪ Wastes need to be increasingly sorted at the source to separate recycled materials and to reduce the magnitude of wastes. ▪ Changes in the habits of segregation, littering can alter the approach. A mechanism to generate revenue from the citizens should also be developed. ▪ Separate parallel decentralized schemes by the Government can facilitate right impetus for the development of WM method. ▪ Integration of informal sector can help achieve sustainable SWM on the one hand and improving their living standards on the other. ▪ Scenario based on socio-economic, environmental and health considerations should fulfill the basic goal of recycling the maximum waste generated, creating maximum employment without reducing potential health hazards. ▪ Self-Employed Women's Association improves the living standard of women paper-pickers by organizing them into cooperatives. ▪ A flawless flow sheet matching financial support, discipline and attitudinal change in all concerned is obviously the key to success of WM. ▪ In India, authorities practicing landfill do declare that they assiduously implement requirements for recommended landfill to assuage citizen concern. ▪ Recycling and reuse of plastics with new techniques can minimize pollution level. ▪ The Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, as well as Agriculture, should develop market for compost and provide subsidies for compost manure-first. ▪ Planning and its implementation should start from general public level followed by block level, district level and state level. ▪ India needs integrating waste policy with migration, industrialization, education, housing, tourism and transportation. ▪ The state governments with banning of plastic carry bags should also put an end to electronic goods to ensure better disposal of e-waste. ▪ Awareness among the young generation can alter public apathy by building campaigns and educational measures. ▪ Research efforts should concentrate on biological methods of waste treatment. In the modern hi-tech age, problem of USWM is to be addressed in broader dimension. ▪ A well-defined strategic SM plan and its strong implementation prevents epidemic and makes each city healthy. ▪ Sensitization of the community helps achieve the objectives as every city in India is already a hotbed of many contagious diseases. ▪ Working on a holistic approach by NGOs and private sectors helps developing responsible citizens who will treat waste as resource opportunity.

Conclusion
Time has come to encourage technology-based entrepreneurship for effective WM. Authorities must protect fundamental rights of citizens and citizens also must perform their fundamental duties to their best practices. Most of the populated areas show the picture of sadly managed and uncontrolled dumpsites. Lackadaisical attitude of the common people has compounded the problem and have left the entire responsibility to the civic authorities. Environmental degradation has led to unregulated use of environment and its wide spread. Absence of complete market makes use of alternative method essential to find solution for the environmental issues. In fact, implementation of environment laws is yet to impact on ecosystem and, therefore, on the health and living conditions of the citizens.

Concluding Remarks
Waste generation basically depends on population, climate, urbanization, socio-economic criteria, etc. The Government should simplify the rules and encourage all the citizens to practice the same in their households and may arrange for reward to the best WM practitioner. Methods like vermicomposting, energy generation from solar cells and e-wastes using recycled water for household practices can be easily preached to the common people. This enhances the fertility of our soil, reduces environmental pollution, increases ground water level ultimately making our environment a safe haven to live. This will be the real legacy we have to leave behind for the forthcoming generation.