Unmanaged urban solid waste poses a threat to public health and the quality of life for urban people, especially for the socially and economically weaker sections of society. In this paper, the problem of solid waste and environmental policies related to waste management in India have been critically examined. The existing policies in India are mostly regulatory in nature and they focus on command and control approach. A few policy recommendations have been made here, which can assist policymakers in implementing waste management strategies in India.
Municipal
solid waste (MSW) is defined to include refuse from households,
non-hazardous solid waste from industrial, commercial and
institutional establishments (including hospitals), market
waste, and street sweepings. It typically consists of paper,
plastics, glass, metal, organic wastes, etc. Municipal solid
waste management (MSWM) encompasses the functions of collection,
transfer, treatment, recycling, resource recovery, and disposal
of municipal solid waste (Schubeler et al., 1996).
As part of the non-hazardous waste stream, MSW poses no direct
threat to humans or environment. However, too much waste entering
the environment rather than being recycled or reused puts
additional stress on the assimilative capacity of the environment.
There are risks to society and the environment if too much
waste is generated or if it is improperly managed (Callan
and Thomas, 2000 and World Bank, 1999).
Unmanaged
solid waste poses several major problems for the people. Health
hazards from uncontrolled waste, improper disposal of waste,
and the economic burden of waste disposal on towns and cities
are some of them. In India, for instance, solid waste management
has become a crucial problem in major cities due to the high
rates of waste generation by the ever-increasing populace.
This is further egged on by the rapid urbanization process.
However, so far, waste management has received less attention
from the policymakers and academicians than that paid to other
environmental problems, such as air pollution, water pollution,
etc. This paper discusses some issues related to management
of waste such as, waste generation, collection efficiency,
and cost of waste management by urban local bodies, environmental
policies, regulatory issues and other challenges. Finally,
some recommendations have been suggested to improve solid
waste management mechanism in India. |
