Cross Functional Team for Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) Practices: An Approach Suitable for India and Other Developing Countries

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1 Cross Functional Team for Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) Practices: An Approach Suitable for India and Other Developing Countries Ruchi Gupta 1&2, Anil Kumar Misra 2 1 The Energy and resources Institute (TERI), India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, India 2 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India 1 ruchig@teri.res.in; 2 anilgeology@gmail.com Received 10 September 2013; Revised 29 November 2013; Accepted 11 February 2014; Published 29 April Science and Engineering Publishing Company Abstract Solid waste management especially for densely populated developing country like India is one of the biggest challenges. Lack of proper plannings, financial constraints, institutional weaknesses, absence of recycling technologies and public apathy towards Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are the biggest challenges for ISWM. An effective integrated solid waste management (ISWM) system depends upon the correlation between cross functional elements (generation, storage, collection, transportation, processing and disposal) and strategic aspects (social awareness, participation, technology, governance and financial resources). Different elements of cross functional elements are usually neglected or absent in majority of the developing countries. With increasing population there is continuous escalation in solid waste generation worldwide and the existing techniques and facilities are ineffective in managing the solid wastes especially in developing countries like India. The aim of the paper is to design an effective ISWM system suitable for Indian conditions and suggest easily and economically feasible strategies for solid waste management suitable for developing countries. Keywords Municipal Solid Waste Management; ISWM System; Cross Functional Team; Strategic Aspects Introduction Sharp increasing trends of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) alarms for serious problems in future. As per the World Bank report, currently the world cities are generating about 1.3 billion tonnes of solid waste per year. The report emphasized the fact that the rate of waste generation corresponds to economic levels of a country. Higher the income level and rate of urbanization, the greater the amount of solid waste produced. In India, the rate of increase of MSW generation per year is about 1 to 1.33% annually that means Indian cities generate 8 times more MSW than they generated in 1947 (Kaushal et al, 2012). Escalation in population and rapid urbanization making the MSW conditions worse in India. The other reason attributed to the unmanaged municipal solid waste is poor infrastructure for collection, storage, recycling and disposal of municipal wastes. Due to the continuous escalation in population and solid waste generation all developing countries need an easily and economically feasible ISWM system that can effectively address and manage solid wastes. An ISWM is a concept that covers all aspects of a waste management system (technical and non technical) and directly or indirectly affects health and environmental conditions of any region. In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse cross functional team for MSW management system in India and design an ISWM system suitable for developing countries. Cross Functional Elements of Municipal Solid Waste System The cross functional elements of a MSW system are provided in Figure 1. The current status of these functional elements in India is as follows. 30

2 Advances in Energy Engineering (AEE) Volume 2, FIGURE 1: CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAM OF MSW SYSTEM Generation It is necessary for all the developing countries to reduce the volume of waste generated and sent to landfill and increase recycling of these wastes. In India Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recently published the data on the generation, collection and treatment of waste generation for 34 states of India Figure 2 shows that data (CPCB, 2012). FIGURE 2: WASTE GENERATION DATA FOR 34 INDIAN CITIES OF INDIA (CPCB, According to per estimate, India generates about 1.27 billion tonnes of MSW per day, out of which 70% (0.89 billion tonnes) of the waste is collected and only 12.45% of the waste is treated and processed. The generated MSW is mix of paper, plastic, glass, metals, toxic substances (paints, pesticides, used batteries, medicines), compostable organic matter (fruit and vegetable peels, food waste) and soiled waste (blood stained cotton, sanitary napkins, disposable syringes etc. (Jha et al., 2003). In general, compostable waste and inert materials constitute the largest percentage in MSW and account each for 40 50% of the total waste. The other materials are paper (3 5%), metals ( %), rubber, leather and synthetics ( %) and glass ( %). Further, previous studies indicate that characteristics of waste correspond to rate of urbanization in India. NEERI (1995) has done physical characterization of municipal solid waste for around 50 cities and found that the cities having population less than 2 million generate more synthetic, rubber and leather waste etc. while the densely populated cities produces more compostable and Inert waste. Even the cities with low density are continuously showing increase in waste generation due to large scale utilization of packed food and items. Industrial cities like Kanpur, Firozabad are famous for small scale industries that generate toxic and hazardous waste. The crossfunctional team needs attention as the city based approach for MSW management is important. Storage The most common approach for storing the waste is a common dustbin. All types of waste composite of organic, inorganic and even biomedical are stored in a common bin at the primary level (household) itself. From there, the unsegregated waste moves to secondary storage, commonly called as Dhalaos or Transfer stations. Dhalaos are used for storage of waste and for transfer of waste which is carried out at the waste treatment plants or at the disposal sites. In the existing practices of MSW management, storage depots are the nuisance. It has been hardly seen any depot which is clean and managed. People used to throw the waste outside the depots. Stray animals take all rubbish from the waste lie inside the depots. In the ISWM system, it is important to address the proper storage of waste as it not only helps in easy processing of waste but also reduces the time and labour used for sorting and segregating the waste. Collection General practice of waste collection in most cities is community bin collection system; however, other methods such as house to house collection of waste also followed. A city is generally divided into wards and each ward is sub divided into 7 10 blocks. In each block, 8 10 sweepers are employed and provided with a handcart or tricycle, a broom and a scraper to sweep the roads, lanes and by lanes, to clean open drains, collect the waste, load it into the handcart and transfer the same to a secondary collection point (Hazra et al, 2009). The current MSW collection system has several weaknesses. The collection vehicles are not properly designed and cannot be used at all areas and places. 31

3 The storage depots are not evenly distributed. In some wards, they are available in large numbers and are very close to one and another, on the other areas; they are far apart, thus making sweepers difficult and time consuming for the working on the sites (Zhu et al, 2008). Equipment used by MCD workers are conventional broom, scraper and a handcart. Handcarts are usually small sized, open and have no provision for segregation of waste. Most often collectors do not use gloves, mask, shoes and other safety wears while collecting, segregating and transporting municipal waste. Most of the workers are uneducated and have no knowledge regarding health impacts caused due to working in unhygienic conditions. The collection of waste is certainly a big problem but it is not impossible to address it. The one of the example is healthcare waste management in Bangalore in India. In 2002, WHO has conducted a survey in 22 countries and found that Malleshwaram Healthcare Waste Management Cell, a group of Ramaiah Medical College has created a system for source separation and management of all waste in the college (UN Habitat, 2010). Such remarkable practices are needed to be applied in every city for a sustainable solid waste management system. effective technologies. In the recent past, technological interventions in the area of MSW management are focused upon. The waste processing technologies reported in the country are; composting, vermicomposting, biogas plant, RDF pelletisation and others. As per the CPCB annual Report, , Such waste processing plants (compost/vermi compost) have been set up in Indian states, Andhra Pradesh (32 Nos.), Chhattisgarh (15), Delhi (3), Goa (5), Haryana (2), Gujarat (86), Himachal Pradesh (13), Karnataka (5), Kerala (29), Madhya Pradesh (4), Maharashtra (125), Meghalaya (2), Orissa (3), Punjab (2), Rajasthan (2), Tamil Nadu (3), Tripura (13), Uttarakhand (3) and West Bengal (9). In addition, waste to energy plants have been set in Andhra Pradesh (3 RDF plant & 4 power plants), Chandigarh (1 RDF), Chhattisgarh (1 RDF), Delhi (1 RDF plant + PP), Gujarat (2 RDF), Kerala (2 Biogas) and Maharashtra (19 Biogas). However, some progresses have been made in the direction of waste treatment and processing, the existing MSW treatment is only 12%. The possessing of hazardous wastes, bulky wastes, pesticide wastes, medical wastes and chemical industrial wastes are difficult to manage and required proper technological support. Transportation Waste transportation is carried out in different vehicles in India depending upon the location, waste quantity and distance from the collection point. From household, the waste is transported to Dhalaos using handcarts or bull carts and from dhaloas to disposal sites in open trucks. The process of waste transportation is very dirty, smelly and unhygienic that one can recognize from distance that a truck loaded with waste is passing from the same road. The process of waste loading and disposal is time consuming, labor intensive and with high health risks to the workers. Municipalities are not following the waste transportation norms like transporting waste under covered conditions so that littering does not occur. The transportation of MSW needs attention under the technology and governance aspects of the ISWM system. Processing Processing of solid waste is essential and requires cost FIGURE 3: INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT APPROACH FOR INDIA Disposal In developing countries open, uncontrolled and poorly managed dumping are commonly practiced, that usually give rise to serious environmental and health problem. In India, more than 90% of MSW in cities and towns are directly disposed of on land in an unsatisfactory manner (Das et al. 1998). Generally final disposal of the waste and identification of landfill sites is a current challenge for municipal authorities. In India, majority of existing sites are limited in space and some are already on verge of closer. The state of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has taken initiatives to identify regional or common 32

4 Advances in Energy Engineering (AEE) Volume 2, landfills for disposal of municipal solid wastes. As per the CPCB Annual Report for , there was record of 59 landfills constructed in the country, 376 landfills under planned and 1305 landfill sites were identified for future use. The construction of sanitary landfills were reported in the state of Andhra Pradesh (Vizianagaram), Delhi (Bhalswa, Okhla&Ghazipur), Goa (1 No.), Gujarat (8 No.), Haryana (Sirsa & Ambala), Karnataka (12 Nos.), Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior & Indore), Maharashtra (Nashik, Sonpeth, Ambad, Pune, Navapur & N. Mumbai), Punjab (Adampur), Rajasthan (Jodhpur), West Bengal (17 Nos.). Although government has moved forward but the disposal on landfill is not ultimate solution as the space is limited. Once the site is close, it can t be reused. Secondly, the current management of landfill sites provide the dirtiest look among the cross functional elements. Sanitary landfilling can provide best solutions to the final disposal of MSW, therefore, it is a necessary to make it an important component of the ISWM system. Moreover the CFT elements focused under the ISWM aspects should give more emphasis on clean approach for maintaining the landfill sites. Role of ISWM system in India ISWM system focuses upon correlation between different attributers of a waste management system. Horizontal attributes are the functional elements which are sequenced together in the waste management chain that are i) generation ii) segregation iii) storage iv) collection v) processing vi) treatment and (f) disposal; vertical attributes are the strategic aspects, which regulates and provide strength to the MSW management system i.e are i)governance, ii) knowledge, iii) participation, iv) technology and v) financial resources. The elements and aspects of the management chain encircled by stakeholders such as i) government, ii) local bodies, iii) NGOs, iv) community, v) workers etc. The ISWM system in simple words can be understood as What needs to be done (elements), How to be done (aspects) and Who needs to involved [UN Habitat, 2010]. Considering the Indian situation, an approach for ISWM system is presented in Figure 3. Social awareness and participation The role of society is a key to managing solid waste. It is important to create awareness in the society, to change the conventional habits of treating the waste. Education to masses, motivation to society groups and willingness of public are the rules of any awareness programme. The management of waste indeed gets successful if it starts at the source itself. The role of community only gets start from here. If generation of waste is prevented, the problem reduced to several folds itself. Waste prevention is fairly a new term and according to Waste Framework Directive (WFD) (2008/98/EC) it can be defined as the measure taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce the quantity of waste, the adverse impacts of the generated waste on environmental and human health or the content of harmful substances (Zorpas and Lasaridi, 2013). There can be simple ways by which community can help in preventing the generation of waste. The generation of waste can be minimized by promoting the use of recyclable, biodegradable or washable materials. It will lower down the burden on the waste management system by reducing the quantity of waste needs to be disposed. The reuse of existing products or packaging can help in waste minimization. The efficiency of management system can be enhanced with the help of community if proper segregation and storage of waste is maintained. The segregated waste is easy to process and it requires less labour and cost. Further, handling of such waste is also not harmful for workers and pickers. The community can also take simple measures such as avoiding wastage of food, supplement fruit and vegetable waste to animals, can done composting of garden waste etc. Around 20% of India s population is staying below poverty line and there is lack of knowledge regarding the consequences of unhealthy solid waste management practices. Here, the role of health care societies, self help groups, NGOs is significant to run routine programmes in each community for creating awareness. Governance In India lack of proper plannings, financial constraints, institutional weaknesses, absence of recycling technologies and public apathy towards Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) are the biggest challenges for ISWM. The municipal solid waste management system is divided into various boards/ and ministries. These agencies have dedicated roles and responsibilities. As indicted in ISWM approach in Figure 3, implementation of policies in each functional team of 33

5 MSW management system is important. For a better institutional structure, it is pertinent to draw the responsibilities of each stakeholder and there should be a strict rules for non compliance. The role of informal sector like NGOs, waste management companies and waste pickers are duly considered and should be facilitated with infrastructure. From the successful implementation recently, it can be said that the role o Public Private Partnership (PPP) can be helpful in this regard. Some of the strengths and threats for PPP models are provided in Table 1 (after Saxena et al, 2010). Technology Technology is the most important aspect of the MSW management system, which is highly ignored. Through technological development large quantity of wastes can be utilized to generate energy. Characteristics of waste vary with countries, and even based on climatic conditions and in such conditions scenario, appropriateness of technologies needed varies. The technologies should be developed taking care of the local conditions and it has advantages in terms of availability of spare parts for machinery, easy repair and maintenance and cost. Therefore it is essential to promote R & D works related to technology development for MSW. Continuous waste characterization and quantification is essential because of changing in living style. Government ministries and departments such as MOUD, MNRE, DST etc can provide research funding to R&D institutes for the development of new technologies like collection, treatment and disposal of wastes. TABLE 1 STRENGTH AND THREATS OF INVOLVING PPP IN SOILD WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (AFTER SAXENA ET AL, 2010). S.No Major Strength Major Threats 1 Operational flexibility Operational risk 2 No bar on salaries Delay in construction work 3 Effective implementation and administration Cost Overrun 4 Responsibilities will be clearly defined Failure of operations 5 No overlaps of departments Increasing operations 6 Fast decision on policies and processes 7 Increased efficiency Access to advanced technology and expertise Access to financial resources Better equipment and maintenance Risk of wrong decision and implementation Change in demand and type of operations Cost increase for resources Financial risk Financial burden Financial Most of the waste management schemes constrained by the lack of financial resources. The local authorities are mostly under financed and not able to maintain the basic jobs of waste collection. Municipalities spend only 10% of their budget on SWM because they have to manage a large number of other activities. A dedicated financial resource for MSW services should be provided in the budget. Municipal authorities requirement and technological support should be given priority while preparing their budgets. Considering the fact, the Ministry of Urban Development formulated and forwarded a scheme to the 12th Finance Commission, requesting them for devolution of funds to the tune of Rs. 24, million for MSW management in 423 Class I cities. The 12th Finance Commission has accordingly recommended devolution of Rs. 25, million over a period of five years, starting from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2010, for providing appropriate collection and transportation system, compost plants and sanitary landfill for SWM in 423 Class I cities and state capitals as per 2001 census. The Ministry has also launched two programs, i.e., Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), with a view to provide infrastructure facilities in all the urban areas of the country, including MSW projects with a reform oriented agenda. Under JNNURM since its inception, 22 SWM projects for 22 cities have been sanctioned so far at a total estimated cost of Rs. 13, million by the Ministry of Urban Development. Some new projects for waste to energy are under the consideration for financial assistance from the Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources. There should be a checklist of priority works related with MSW management for each city and specify the funds required for its implementation. The work can be designated by municipal authorities to the other stakeholders also such as NGOs, Private companies and volunteers. Conclusion and Recommendation The escalation in population and solid waste generation is continuing and therefore the risks to public health and environment due to solid waste in urban areas are becoming uncontrollable. To address of managing the solid wastes, a systematic approach and successful implementation of ISWM system is essential. The success of an ISWM system depends on 34

6 Advances in Energy Engineering (AEE) Volume 2, the teams those are coordinating different ISWM activities, which needs critical and careful observation of group dynamics such as good management, good team, easily and economically feasible techniques and conflict resolution among different segments of ISWM systems (parties). The present study recommends the followings for the successful implementation of ISWM systems in all urban areas The ISWM system teams are composed of multidiscipline specialists therefore the success of the ISWM team depends upon excellent coordination among all segments. Therefore people with prior experiences in implementing ISWM system should be assigned such responsibility. Most of the ISWM segments are extremely sound and possess a very good application prospects in urban areas, but there is a lack of knowledge pertaining to its successful implementation, which can be addressed through proper guidance and education. The existing solid waste management system in India lacks the use of the latest and costeffective technologies. Therefore the success of ISWM system will also depends on how fast we can adopt these technologies in different segments of ISWM system. It is essential to introduce and adopt the life style and technologies that reduce the waste generation because the success of an integrated waste management system depends on the reduction in waste load and energy consumption. In India and in other developing countries the management of ISWM requires proper infrastructure, maintenance and upgradation for all activities. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We thank all the faculty members of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, of ITM University and Energy Environment and Technology Division, TERI New Delhi for providing working facilities and also for continuous encouragement. REFERENCES Annepu, R.K., Sustainable solid waste management in India Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council, Columbia University, 2012 CPCB, Status report on solid waste management 2012 CPCB, Assessment of status of municipal solid waste management in metro cities and state capitals 2005 CPHEEO, Manual on Municipal Solid Waste Management, Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization, Das, D.M., Srinivasu, Bandyopadhyay, M., Solid state acidification of vegetable waste. Indian Journal of Environmental Health 40 (4), 1998, FICCI, Survey on the Current Status of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Indian Cities and the Potential of Landfill Gas to Energy Projects in India Hazra, T., and Goel, S., Solid waste management in Kolkata, India: Practices and challenges Waste Management, 29 (2009), Hoornweg, D. and Bhada Tata, P., WHAT A WASTE A Global Review of Solid Waste Management. Urban Development Series Knowledge Papers, The World Bank, March 2012, No. 15 Jha, M. K., O. A. K. Sondhi, and M. Pansare, Solid Waste Management a Case Study Indian Journal of Environmental Protection, 23 (10), 2003, JNNURM (2011) available at Kaushal, R.K., Varghese, G.K., Chabukdhara, M., Municipal solid waste management in India current state and future challenges a review International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 4 (2012), Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, New Delhi, NEERI, Strategy Paper on Solid Waste Management in India Saxena, S., Srivastava, R. K., and Samaddar, A. B., Sustainable Waste Management Issues in India. The IUP Journal of Soil and Water Sciences, 3 (1) UN Habitat, Solid waste management in the world s cities UNEP, Developing Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan Training Manual ISWM Plan, 4, Zhu, D., Asnani, P. U., Zurbrugy, C., Anapolsly, S., and Mani, S., Improving municipal solid waste management 35

7 in India a sourcebook for policy makers and practitioners Zorpas, A.A., Lasaridi, K., Measuring waste prevention. Waste Management, Article in Press. DOI: /j.wasman , First Author: Ms. Ruchi Gupta, Research Scholar Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM University, Gurgaon, India Second Author: Dr. Anil Kumar Misra, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ITM University, Gurgaon, India 36