Title: Status of municipal solid waste management system in India

Authors: Poonam Vaidya; Rakesh Kumar; Prabhu Ravikumar Kantoji

Addresses: National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, 89/B, Dr. A.B.Road, Worli, Mumbai – 400 018, India ' National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, 89/B, Dr. A.B.Road, Worli, Mumbai – 400 018, India ' Aditya Environmental Services, P1, Lalit Commercial Complex, MIDC, Mohopada, Patalganga, Dist. Raigad, India

Abstract: Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has become a worldwide concern and is a major issue especially in developing countries due to environmental problems, such as air, soil and water pollution and generation of greenhouse gases from open dumping sites. The MSW management is going through a critical phase due to the non-availability of suitable facilities to treat and dispose of the increasing amount of MSW generated daily specially in metropolitan cities. Municipal authorities generally fail to provide adequate services due to insufficient funds and ineffective legislation. The current MSWM practices including collection, transportation, treatment and disposal systems of India have been presented in this paper. It also highlights the recommendations for improvement in existing system to achieve the goal of sustainable solid waste management considering technological, institutional and financial factors.

Keywords: greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; legislation; sustainable development; sustainability; municipal solid waste; MSW; solid waste management; dumping sites; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2014.061814

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2014 Vol.17 No.2/3/4, pp.310 - 333

Received: 04 Feb 2013
Accepted: 02 Nov 2013
Published online: 30 Jun 2014 *

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