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Solid Waste
Management at Community Level
Barriers and solution
According
to the World Bank, Report 1994, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) includes
refuse from institutions, market
waste, yard waste and street sweepings. In other words, the term
"municipal waste" applies to the waste generated by households and also
waste of similar character derived from shops, offices and other
commercial units. Levels of municipal waste production are directly
proportional to levels of industrialisation and levels of income. Per
capita waste generation varies between 2.75 and 4.0 kg per day in
high-income countries, but is as low as 0.5 kg per day in countries with
lowest incomes. In USA, 10,000 private firms are engaged in MSW
services, collecting more than 80% of the waste. About seven percent
goes to landfills and for the 73% resource recovery facilities are
operated by private contractors.
Municipal solid waste is a heterogeneous mixture
of paper, plastic, cloth, metal, glass, organic matter, etc. generated
from households, commercial establishments, and markets. The proportion
of different constituents of waste varies from season to season and
place to place, depending on the lifestyle, food habits, standards of
living, the extent of industrial and commercial activities in the area,
and so on. Packaging materials are becoming an increasingly important
component of municipal waste in developed countries. Recent estimates
suggest that packaging materials account for about 30 per cent of
municipal waste in the USA (US EPA, 1990).
Indian MSW Composition
Municipal waste in developing countries tend to have a higher organic
and ash/grit content, and also a higher moisture content. It has been
estimated that recyclable content in solid waste varies from 13 to 20%
and compostable material is about 65 to 80%. A typical composition of
Indian Municipal Solid waste is given in Table 1.
|
Table 1:Indianh MSW Composition |
| Descripition |
Percentage by
weight |
| Vegetable
leaves |
40.15 |
| Grass |
3.80 |
| Paper |
0.81 |
| Plastic |
0.62 |
|
Glass/ceramics |
0.44 |
| Metal |
0.64 |
| Stones/ashes |
41.81 |
| Miscellaneous |
11.73 |
In India, waste generation is
expected to increase to a mammoth figure of 300 million by 2047, i.e.,
from the present 500 grams to 945 grams per capita. The estimated land
requirement for disposal of such huge quantum of waste would be 169.6
sq. kms as compared to 20.2 sq. kms in 1997. This escalation could be
accounted to India’s population explosion, change in consumption
patterns among urban populations and relatively high spate of waste
generation, which has a direct relationship with the amount of waste
generated in a community.
Some Experiments
Solid Waste
Management cannot be successful without the involvement of all
stakeholders who have a vital role to play in successful implementation
of the scheme. It is worthwhile to examine some of the initiatives in
this regard.
Bhagidari Scheme in Delhi
The Delhi
Government instituted the Bhagidari Scheme for ensuring close
cooperation of the Residents Welfare Association (RWAs), civic agencies
and the government. A step in the right direction was taken by getting a
court order for compulsory segregation of waste at the household level
from January 1, 2004. It is one thing to bring about a legislation and
another to ensure its compliance and implementation. Like most
environmental legislations in Delhi, (Section 353 (C) of the Delhi
Municipal
Corporation Act), there are very few, may be miniscule, who religiously
segregate the waste at source. One can only deduce that such an activity
does not exist perhaps in the Indian psyche. People do not see it as
their responsibility but that of the municipality. In December 2003 (Hindustan
Times 26.12.2003), the Municipal Commissioner of Delhi announced a
system by which segregated garbage from homes would be transported to
municipal bins through specially designed handcarts having two
compartments. He further mentioned that the segregation system would
reduce 50 per cent of the garbage going to landfills and thereby result
in cost reduction. In the initial phase, zones were selected in colonies
like Hauz Khas, Gulmohar Park, Vasant Vihar, Green Park, Safdarjung
Enclave and Sewa Nagar. Due to various reasons, the scheme has not
really taken off. As a matter of fact, in one zone (Sewa Nagar) the bins
that were located on the side of a road had been pilfered. Only in some
colonies, where RWAs decided to tackle the problem themselves, the
scheme is working.
Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF)
As a part of the overall plan of the BATF, solid waste management has
been taken up in a big way in Bangalore City. The whole operation has
been outsourced to private agencies who provide the infrastructure right
from Safai Karamcharis, their uniforms and caps, bins, trolleys and
vehicles (dumpers) that pick up the collected waste and transport it to
the composting site on the city’s outskirts. The Safai Karamcharis have
been given strict instructions not to collect the waste from households
if it is not segregated. Their areas of responsibility are clearly
demarcated along with their collection schedule. These areas are under
supervisors of the contracted agency and hence, it is ensured that every
place is kept clean. This exercise also has a few snags that will be
discussed later.
Individual Effort in Rural
Maharashtra
A 39 year old bank cashier, Ms. Asha Shivajirao Bhise, left her job and
took up vermi-composting in a big way (Indian Express, 16.04.2004).
With a total corpus of Rs. 15 lakhs, she set up a vermi-composting
project and harvested 20 tonnes of compost in 40 days, which was picked
up by farmers within days. It is an example of tapping commercial
opportunities in solid waste management and total commitment by an
individual.
Mumbai Initiative
Under the dynamic leadership of Ms. Kunti Oza, Clean Mumbai Foundation
has taken up solid waste management with the help of corporate sector.
‘A’ Ward comprising (Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point, Strand / Colaba,
Museum, Paltan Road Bora Bazar, Ballard Estate and Churchgate / Marine
Drive) has been selected for the pilot project. A collection system has
been organised and the wet garbage is taken to selected sites in parks
that would have composting pits. Besides the provision of financial
resources by the corporate sector, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is
providing supervisors at each selected garbage collection station. What
is interesting in this scheme is the novel Pavement Tank Method of
utilising waste at some sites. As there are high rise residential
buildings without any space for garbage disposal, the residents provided
funds for making rectangular brick tanks around trees on the lane
pavements. Wet kitchen waste is also being put in the tanks and covered
with dried leaves to prevent foul odour. The waste turns into compost by
the aerobic process and provides essential manure to the trees. The area
is kept clear of stray dogs and cattle.
Barriers and Solutions
As SWM is a concerted effort of all stakeholders – civic agencies, RWAs,
communities, ragpickers, NGOs and the government – each one has to play
an active role in making it a success. A negative attitude of one would
have a profound negative effect on the entire scheme leading to its
derailment.
Segregation
At the household level, segregation is vital. It does not take any time
for an individual to put biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste in
two separate containers. A bin for the kitchen waste is enough, as the
non-biodegradable (or dry) waste can easily be put in a cardboard box.
This exercise saves a lot of effort at the end of the chain. It has been
observed that in Bangalore, the residents still continue with
non-segregation that aggregates to giant proportions at the composting
site. Delhi is far behind in setting up of such systems. A drastic
attitudinal change is needed and individuals appraised of their
responsibilities. It is no use blaming the municipal authorities and
putting the onus squarely on them with the excuse that we pay municipal
taxes and it is their duty to remove the garbage whether segregated or
not. Our archaic custom of not touching waste created by ourselves has
to change, earlier the better, as times will soon come when there will
be no domestic help and all the members of the household would have to
join hands to manage household waste themselves.
Waste Utilisation at Source
Quite a few urban
areas, including the country’s capital, have municipal parks both within
and outside the localities. These parks are ideally suited for
composting. At present, unsegregated garbage is collected from
households by employed ragpickers / safaiwalas, who take it near
a municipal dhalao. As non-biodegradable wastes like plastics,
polythene, glass and paper do fetch a price, the safaiwalas
unload the waste on the roads / lawns, carry out sorting for resale and
leave the entire area a dirty, stinking place. It invites stray cattle
and dogs who further spread the waste, leading to unhygienic conditions.
Once enforcement of segregation is achieved, biodegradable waste can be
collectively taken to the composting area and most of the
non-biodegradable waste sold by the ragpicker as recyclable. This would
reduce manpower and transportation costs for the municipality and ensure
that only ten percent of waste goes to the so-called landfills, which
are virtually dumping sites. The same ragpicker / safaiwala who
could get an income of Rs. 3000 to 4000 (@ of Rs. 30 to 40 per month of
collecting waste from 100 households) could be employed at the
composting site. The profits from the sale of compost could be shared
between RWA and the ragpicker.
Ragpickers
The ragpicker community is an important link in the SWM system.
They can survive under Indian conditions as a result of two basic
situations - the extreme
poverty of large sections of urban communities, and the relatively high
value of raw materials to be recycled. They are instrumental in
segregating the waste and then taking away the non-biodegradable for
selling to the Kabariwalas. This ensures an income of about one
hundred rupees per day for an individual. The income not only provides
employment but also recognises their important contribution to the
society and prevents them from resorting to petty thefts and other
anti-social activities. It is a laudable step towards "dignity of labour".
Present day activities of ragpickers are not systematic and they
scavenge around from one locality to another. Their movements in the
early hours of the morning lead to suspicions and they are exploited by
law enforcement agencies. All ragpickers in a particular locality
should be brought together by the municipal authorities, assigned areas
of responsibilities and introduced to the RWA. They could also be given
the task of picking up segregated waste from households for which they
could be paid a fixed monthly amount by residents. The ragpickers
could also be trained to do composting and a certain amount from the
proceeds of sale could be allotted to them.
According to Dr. Bhide of NEERI,
a ragpicker picks up and feeds into the recycling chain between
12 to 15 % of the total waste generated. In case of Delhi, where the
total waste per day is 6000 metric tonnes, the ragpickers
(100,000 to 150,000) lift 720 to 900 tonnes, which is a daily saving of
Rs. 620,000/- to Rs. 7,75,000/- to the MCD. These figures clearly
indicate an unnoticed or unacknowledged subsidy being provided by the
ragpicker. Their activities are beneficial to the waste producer
(households) and the civic agency. It also benefits the composting unit
by saving them from sorting out a sizeable portion of the recyclables.
Municipal Corporations
Municipal Committees or Municipal Corpo-rations are the main role
players in Solid Waste Management. A well coordinated plan involving all
stakeholders will lead to efficient segregation, removal and utilisation
of garbage. It will also reduce the work load of the agency and the
amount of garbage to be sent to landfill sites. The municipal agencies
have the responsibility to create awareness for which they can take the
assistance of the media. Advertisements in local dailies and
audio-visual publicity through radio and TV will help in bringing about
attitudinal changes. They can also inform the citizens about their role;
who all can be contacted for guidance; the programme of action; and
other agencies like NGOs who are involved. The strategy for
implementation would be :
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Detailed method of collection from source to landfills |
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Safai karamcharis and their duties |
|
l |
Method of clearing municipal dhalaos |
|
l |
Contribution in setting up SWM systems in communities |
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Organising the work of ragpickers for non-biodegradable waste
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Availability and provision of trucks / dumpers and timings
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|
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Allotment of land, mostly in municipal parks for composting by
communities |
|
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Arranging
sale of compost through various retail outlets |
|
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Financial
support to RWAs in the form of both fixed and recurring costs.
|
The civic agencies should also
plan a viable marketing system to ensure that vermi-compost is sold.
They should ensure cleanliness at the municipal dumps (dhalaos),
close coordination between their safaiwalas and ragpickers,
be answerable for the overall cleanliness of the area and prevent their
employees from taking on side-jobs, thus helping the ragpicker
earn a decent income for their sustenance. The municipal authorities /
civic agencies have to realise that such an effort on a large scale
would result in reducing the load of their work force that could devote
more time and personnel for general cleanliness. Hence, the onus of
providing the market for sale of compost rests with them. They should
either purchase the produce themselves or arrange for its sale to those
who require, like farmhouses, horticulture and floriculture enterprises,
etc. They should also give incentives to communities who are running
such enterprises successfully.
NGOs
NGOs play a very crucial role in catalysing community action. The most
workable method is to use the enthusiasm of children from schools in the
neighbourhood. They have the expertise to systematically initiate the
programme, put the system in place, monitor its progress and provide
valuable guidance. It is recommended that a consortium of like-minded
NGOs be formed and geographical zones allotted, keeping in view the
aspect of total coverage of the town / city. The NGOs are required to
impart orientation training and do hand-holding of RWAs till the system
is set in place and starts working. To keep the interest alive, NGOs
could organise competitions among RWAs. NGOs should also involve
charitable institutions like Rotary, Jaycee, Lions, etc. for financial
support.
Conclusion
The menace of solid waste in the urban sector has become a monstrous
reality. Nothing substantial has been done in most of the towns and
cities in the country. Although India has the most comprehensive
Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, it is just
a directive on paper without any enforcement and implementation. Very
little effort has been made to train and build the capacity of all
stakeholders. Hence, there are all kinds of excuses given for its
failure. The blame game continues. Most of the municipalities cite lack
of resources to manage solid waste while the communities feel that they
have not been involved. Resource agencies, like NGOs, want to take the
initiative but do not wish to get involved till they have a complete
assurance of cooperation from all stakeholders, specially the government
and civic agencies. They also do not like the idea of volunteering
without any financial back-up. BATF has ensured complete financial
mobilisation in a coordinated manner. The residents feel that a great
opportunity is going waste. The government should educate and inform
people about such projects before executing any plan, so that the
desired results are obtained. They should also understand the economics
of a joint effort which would result in huge savings to the exchequer by
way of privatisation and utilisation at source, leading to the reduction
in manpower, transportation, health services and creation of livelihoods
for the weaker sections of the society. It is a win-win situation with
just a little extra effort to grasp the opportunity for making our
cities clean and green.
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