India’s rapid economic growth has resulted in a substantial increase in solid waste generation in urban

centers. Urban areas in India alone generate more than 100,000 metric tonnes of solid waste per day,
which is higher than many countries’ total daily waste generation. Large metropolis such as Mumbai and
Delhi generate around 9000 metric tonnes and 8300 metric tonnes per day respectively. Due to sustained
rapid economic growth, Indian cities are expected to only intensify their consumption patterns.

Unlike many other countries in the region, Indian cities either do not charge or charge very less for waste
collection and management, making it a financial burden for Urban Local Bodies, while also leading to
poor community participation in sustainability initiatives. This has resulted in inefficiencies such as
unsegregated waste collection and low territorial coverage, as well as other issues and health concerns
including the collection and transportation of waste in open trucks, limited waste recovery and processing,
and indiscriminate dumping at open dump sites without leachate treatment. These issues result in serious
health damage and economic losses. The waste management sector in India is further supplemented by
informal workers who come from the urban poor. These so-called rag pickers, who are instrumental in
waste recycling, are highly vulnerable to health problems owing to shabby work conditions. If the
municipal corporations continue dumping in the landfill sites then the area required for the landfill will
increase exponentially as projected in the below figure.

Landfill sites are tickling pollution bombs which produce gases which are more potent greenhouse gases
than carbon dioxide. So we need some solutions which can along with reuse and recycle of waste should
generate and build sustainable sources of income.

Around 100 cities are set to be developed as smart cities. Civic bodies have to redraw long term vision in
solid waste management and rework their strategies as per changing lifestyles. They should reinvent
garbage management in cities so that we can process waste and not landfill it (with adequate provisioning
in processing and recycling).To do this, households and institutions must segregate their waste at source
so that it could be managed as a resource. The Centre aims to do away with landfill sites in 20 major
cities. There is no spare land for dumping garbage; the existing ones are in a critical state. It is reported
that almost 80 per cent of the waste at Delhi landfill sites could be recycled provided civic bodies start
allowing rag pickers to segregate waste at source and recycle it. Compost pits should be constructed in
every locality to process organic waste. Community participation has a direct bearing on efficient waste
management.

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Considering the size of Indian population and their low income we need to arrive at solutions which are
cost effective, integrated to culture and can consume most of the waste. We need both private players and
non-governmental organizations to help and recycle as well as if possible up-cycle the waste. Items like
glass and plastic can be up-cycled and converted into better products. Plastic waste chokes the aquatic
lives in streams and rivers, also releasing carcinogenic gases in the landfill. This plastic can be recycled
and used to produce handicrafts like pouches, bags etc. This can be done by formation of a self-help
group of ladies or craftsmen which will help in production of the crafts out of the plastic and glass and we
can sell this to market and generate revenue. The plastic wastes collected can be reduced in the small
pellets and then the pellets can be used to manufacture the plastic showpieces which can help generating
the income for the people living on the margins. These plastic pellets can be used in laying roads as we
are currently doing in the highways. This will increase the margin of the players in the industry and the
contractors who take the contract of construction of roads. They also have incentives to set up plastic
recycling plants which will help in reducing the waste. The government can add a clause in the tender that
the people who purchase the recycled plastic for constructing the road will only get the tender.

India has a large farming population and we have huge garden enthusiasts too. Composting the
biodegradable waste matter and supplying it to the farmers and garden enthusiasts can help reduce the
biodegradable wastes. Composting appears to be the ideal way of managing this organic waste, but the
experience of large-scale composting plants has generally been very disappointing. It is important to learn
from these experiences, to have realistic expectations, to develop a strong marketing approach and to
work closely with the agricultural sector, in order to have a brighter future for this ecologically ideal
method of managing biodegradable waste. Techniques like vermicomposting and vermin-casting helps in
getting more organic matter which will help in processing the organic waste in a better way. This process
utilizes the ability of the earthworms to disintegrate the biodegradable portion of the municipal solid
waste and is very suitable for Indian climatic conditions.

Informal sector currently contributes the most for waste collection and segregation, there is a urgent need
to educate and inform them about how to properly segregate the waste and how to bring it to the proper
factories. We need to arrive at a solution for the daily payment of these people and also look at the
incentives so that we can keep them motivated and the input for the industry is constant so that the
recycling plants can run to their maximum operating capacity.

There is an increasing need to reduce the landfills that currently exist in the country which can be reduced
only by burning of the waste. We need proper methods to dispose and incinerate the waste in the better
way such that it causes low pollution and has the maximum benefit. There are two ways to utilize the heat
generated by this waste - either by converting it into electricity or using it at point source in the places like
hotels. Indian waste has low calorific value if it is burned as it is; so we need better techniques to burn
these wastes in order to get the maximum calorific value. Techniques like making of pellets out of the
waste after sieving, drying and screening the waste can be applied. These pellets can be used along with
coal in small thermal power plants since they are relatively very low in producing the smoke; so people
will get the carbon credits and they can reduce the ecological foot print and hence help in contributing
towards government of India’s implementation towards Paris Climate Accord.

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The best strategy to go forward is to not think of big bang projects which will cost more and probably
won’t be sustainable. We need to look to the above solutions which are community based, organic and
easily implementable and can be scaled further; these solutions can be implemented with the help of very
less skilled people which can be helpful in providing employment, currently a pressing problem in India
given its demographic trend. These can also help in raising the awareness about less use of plastic and
sustainable homes .These projects require very little input and are labor intensive and hence suited better
for Indian context, applying foreign measures may not help here in Indian context.

Currently of the total solid waste generated by India only less than 40 percent is processed which shows
that there is huge demand and supply gap the as per the below

100%
90%
80%
t w 70%
o a 60% Total Waste
t s 50% Generation (Metric
40% Tonnes/Day)
a t
l e 30% Target to Achieve
20% Waste Processing by
10% March 2016 %age
0%
1 4 7 101316192225283134
waste processed

Assuming a business as usual scenario (BAU), by the end of the next decade, India will generate a total of
920 million tons of MSW, landfill or openly dump 840 million tons of it and produce 3.6 million tons of
mixed waste compost. Studies have found that the calorific value (lower heating value) of some
composting rejects (up to 60% of the input MSW) is as high as 11.6 MJ/kg (2770 kcal/kg) (Table 14).
This value is much higher than the minimum calorific value of 7.5 MJ/kg (1,790 kcal/kg) recommended
for economically feasible energy generation through grate combustion WTE (2). This data is important,
considering the notion that the calorific value of MSW in India is not suitable for energy generation.
Therefore, the residues of mixed MSW composting operations can be used for producing RDF or can be
combusted in a WTE plant directly. There is a pressing need to arrive at the solutions which will process
the waste and will be a revenue generator, and private players can financially benefit much by indulging
in the above mentioned solutions, which are ecologically sustainable and at the same time economically
beneficial. In the states like Uttar Pradesh where there is a huge population and the amount of solid waste
generated is more than the 19000 metric tonnes a day and most of the families are indulged in farming
there is a pressing need to arrive at in situ solutions which can convert the biodegradable waste into
compost there only.