India’s Gigantic Problem Of Solid Waste

1. India’s Gigantic Problem Of Solid Waste

2. Solid waste management is one of the most significant problems the Indian government is trying to deal with. In the last two decades, India has witnessed tremendous growth in social and economic sectors. In parallel, the Indian population has grown exponentially too, from 1.028 billion in 2001 to 1.252 billion in 2013. This population growth has seen an increasingly larger population concentration in urban areas due to the availability of more employment sources. With the globalisation of the economy and technology development, cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, to name a few, have become megacities with larger populations than most small towns and rural areas of India.

3. This growing population has resulted in the massive production of solid waste. Despite a considerable development in social and economic sectors, solid waste management (SWM) systems in India have have not kept up with the challenge and remain relatively rudimentary. As a result, around 90 percent of waste is currently dumped rather than adequately landfilled. Production of solid waste reflects the living standards, eating habits and seasonal changes and in the last few years, India has seen a tremendous transformation in each of these aspects. Economic classes have a significant impact on waste production as higher income groups are more likely to use packaged products, resulting in a substantial quantity of waste generated in the form of packaging bags, glass, metals and textiles along with compostable materials like left-overs of vegetables and fruits.

4. Waste produced in urban areas also contain hazardous waste products such as medicines, batteries, colouring products and pesticides. On an average, the municipal solid waste generated in cities is 41 percent organic, around 40 percent inert, with 20 percent potentially recyclable products like plastic, glass and metal objects. According to one estimate, nearly 133,760 tonnes of waste is collectively produced in all major Indian metropolitan cities, which is predicted to increase at the rate of 5 percent, considering the changing lifestyle of the mass population. Out of this humongous quantity of waste produced only 91,152 tonnes are collected, and only 25,884 tonnes is actually treated properly.

5. Current waste management systems are insufficient and inefficient and solid waste has now started adversely affecting public health and environment in India. Garbage releases methane from anaerobic microbial activities. In open spaces, methane is dangerous due to its combustible nature. When mixed with air, methane becomes explosive. Methane is also one of the greenhouse gases and a primary reason for global warming. Other problems associated with open solid waste are odour formation and leachates escaping into groundwater, one of the most critical sources of drinking water for a vast majority of the Indian population. Odoriferous smells released from waste is another crucial issue in a country like India where the average temperature is mostly above 37 degree Celsius.

6. Dumped tires and other garbage collect water, and this stagnant water becomes a breeding house of mosquitoes, increasing risks of vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. Municipal waste management workers still manage garbage by burning it openly. In just Mumbai, every year, around 22,000 tonnes of pollutants are released in the air by burning tyres. This approach of dealing with solid waste is hazardous as it releases fine particles along with some toxic gases that have potential to cause many respiratory disorders. Burning garbage also leads to the formation of smog which is again dangerous to the public health. The effects of our pitiable waste management system are well reported with increased incidences of inflammation, allergies, respiratory tract infections, reduced immunity, asthmas, breathing difficulties and other diseases.

7. The infrastructure of SWM plays a vital role in maintaining sustainable development of any country. Germany is today one of the leading countries in the world with an exceptionally efficient solid waste management systems. In 1950, Germany had around 50,000 landfills. However, today that number is reduced to just 300 landfills that do not accept unsorted garbage. In 2005, the German government wholly banned traditional garbage dumps and replaced them with a sophisticated system, which runs on recycling solid waste. Germany managed to reach this point by changing their attitude to see solid waste not as garbage but as a business opportunity. Currently, Germany annually saves €3.7 billion from recycling and energy generated from waste. Their waste processing units help them save three percent cost of energy imports along with 20 percent cost of metals.

8. The German approach to treat waste as potential resources can help India in our battle against the management of waste produced each day. Our rapid population growth is putting a severe strain on natural resources in India. As a result, prices of natural oil and gas are on the rise. With active solid waste management systems, India would be able the extract resources like energy and nutrients from the garbage which will ensure more efficient use of energy resources and also open up new employment avenues. Traditionally, we have been a nation of recyclers. Whether it is wearing the elder sibling’s hand-me-downs or jewellery passed down through generations or even eating leftovers from the previous day, we practise recycling in our everyday lives without batting an eyelid. We merely need to apply this same perspective to waste. And India has the technology to extract resources from solid waste. The challenge is that this technology is not operationally spread across the nation.

9. What India needs is more investment in the solid waste management sectors. The transformation of waste into resources is directly dependent on a coordinated set of actions such as the development of markets and increasing recovery of recyclable as well as reusable products. Therefore energy, material and nutrients recovery must be the ultimate target for the sustainable management of solid waste management. More than 75 percent waste produced in India is recyclable; however, we manage to recycle less than one third. Our government needs to take some firm and resolute action to ensure our solid waste problem comes under control and turns into an opportunity. If change – immediate, large-scale, actionable change – is not brought about soon, we will need landfills larger than our cities themselves to dump all the waste generated in the cities.

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