Muncipal Solid Waste Management in West Bengal

Technoinsight

Vol.II, No. 1, February 2010

Muncipal Solid Waste Management in West Bengal M. Sanyal, A. Das, A. Majumder, P. K. Roy & A. Mazumdar School of Water Resources Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700 032 email-id- [email protected] / [email protected]

Most urban areas in the country are plagued by acute problems related to solid waste. It is estimated that the total solid waste generated by 300 million people living in urban areas is around 40 million tonnes/year. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a heterogeneous mixture of different constituents out of which around 50% is organic. Municipal Solid Waste management (MSWM) is perhaps the most essential service required by urban population to combat the severe implications that MSW may have on their health and to the overall environment. The main objective of the present paper is to evaluate the present situation of MSWM through collection of data from the ULBs in West Bengal. The study has been carried out through qualitative and quantitative assessment of MSW for three municipal towns and questionnaire format were sent to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in West Bengal for different municipalities for collection of information on status of SWM. The study concludes MSW management is perhaps the most essential service required by urban population to combat the severe implications and to the overall environment. Key words : MSW; Sustainable; vermicomposting; uncontrolled dumping; per capita waste generation

INTRODUCTION :

per day, and this is expected to increase to 1.8 X 106 t by 2025 ( Pokhrel and

Solid waste has been produced since the beginning of civilization. During the earliest periods, solid wastes were conveniently and unobtrusively disposed of in large open land spaces, as the

Viraraghavan,2005). Municipal solid waste includes commercial and residential wastes generated in a municipal or notified areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes. Rapid urbanization and modern living

density of the population was low. However, today, one of the consequences of global urbanization is an increased amount of solid waste. About 1.3 X109 t of municipal

have led to generation of huge quantities of Municipal Solid Wastes. Due to lack of serious efforts by municipal authorities, solid waste and its management has become a tenacious problem. The collection and disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is one of the facing

solid waste (MSW) was generated globally in 1990 (Beede and Bloom, 1995), and, at present, the annual generation is approximately 1.6 X109 t. The urban population in Asia generates around 760 X 103 t of MSW

9

Technoinsight


problems of city life which has assumed great importance in the recent past. With the growing urbanization as a result of planned economic growth and industrialization, problems are becoming acute and call for immediate and consulted action. The proper disposal of urban waste is not only absolutely necessary for the preservation and improvement of public health but it has an immense potential for resource recovery. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a heterogeneous mixture of different constituents out of which around 50% is organic. Most of the municipalities practice uncontrolled disposal of solid wastes resulting in surface water and groundwater pollution, odour nuisance and air pollution. In several municipal areas, conservancy workers collect solid waste from roadside vats and transport it to the disposal ground for uncontrolled dumping. This mismanagement in tackling solid waste sector causes insanitary conditions and serious threat to public health and environment. Solid waste management is a part of public health and sanitation and according to the Indian Constitution falls within the purview of the State List. The activity being of a local nature is entrusted to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).The Urban Local Bodies undertakes the task of solid waste delivery with its own staff, equipments and funds. A considerable number of ULBs are yet to obtain authorization from the State Pollution Control Board. Most of the municipalities are violating the norms and guidelines prescribed in the rules and as a result solid waste collection, processing and disposal facilities are suffering most.

frequency of collection, the treatment and disposal options employed by them.

METHODOLOGY : Questionnaire was framed incorporating various components on Solid Waste Management (SWM). The questionnaire was pre-tested in a municipality for validation. Questionnaire were sent to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in West Bengal for collection of information on status of SWM. Twenty five ULBs responded to the request. The study team also visited a few ULBs for collection of information from field survey. During the study quantitative assessment of municipal solid waste were carried out for three municipal towns, namely Bidhannagar ( Adjacent to Kolkata; North 24 Parganas), Titagarh (North 24 Parganas), Chandannagar (Hooghly). The waste was quantified at three to four different collection points individually and finally from the disposal ground to determine its physical composition. MSW samples were collected from three different community bins and from the disposal ground. Each time certain amounts of waste were collected from different community bins and weighed. Wastes were collected by employing the Quartering Method. In this method 100 kg of wastes were collected, thoroughly mixed and divided into four parts. Out of these four parts, two diagonally opposite parts are mixed and the other diagonally opposite parts are rejected. This method was repeated till the final mass was about 12.5kg. The sample was then segregated manually into different physical components like garbage, ash, earth, paper, plastics, rubber, leather, glass, metals, textiles etc. Manually segregated materials were then weighed to determine its fraction with respect to the total sample collected from each bin. The characteristics of the waste were studied at the field as per standard method and quantifications were assessed for garbage, ash, paper, plastic, ceramic, glass, rags, etc.

Rapid population growth and uncontrolled industrial development are seriously degrading the urban and semi-urban environment in many of the world’s developing countries, placing an enormous strain on natural resources and undermining efficient and sustainable development(Joshi et al., 2001)The municipal solid waste collection systems serve only a small fraction of the urban and semi-urban population. The population remaining without waste collection services is usually the low-income population living in the semi-urban areas. Waste collection efficiency is a function of both manpower availability and transport facilities (Kumar and Tayade, 2008). The main objective of the work was to collect data from the ULBs regarding the physical characteristics of the wastes, their segregation, mode of collection of solid wastes and the

RESULTS : On the basis of the information furnished by the municipal towns in the given questionnaire and the surveys conducted in various municipal towns from time to time the per capita waste generation rates have been calculated based on the various population ranges. Table-I highlights quantity of solid waste generation in the 25 municipal towns.

10

Technoinsight


II. Urban Local bodies should provide daily waste collection services through containerized pedal tricycles / handcarts or other similar means from all households, shops and establishments. Such practice is known as house to house waste collection system. After the sorting, the secondary transportation vehicles transfer the wastes from the smaller vehicles(handcarts/pedal tricycles) to larger ones(trucks, dumper placers, etc.) to transport the wastes to the disposal sites. Sometimes the smaller vehicles dump the wastes to community bins /vats from where the secondary vehicles take them to the disposal ground.

Subsequently, the functional element of collection includes not only the gathering of solid wastes and recyclable materials, but also the transport of these materials after collection to the transfer station, processing centres, recycling units, landfill sites etc. Primary collection of waste is the second essential step of solid waste management activity. Primary collection system is necessary to ensure that waste stored at source is collected regularly and it is not disposed off on the streets, drains, water bodies, etc. The collection of the solid wastes has been shown in Table

Table I:- Per capita generation of Municipal solid waste. Total no. of municipal towns surveyed = 25 Sl. No

Name of the Municipality

Population (As per 2001 Census)

Area of the Municipality (km2)

No. of Wards

Quantity of Waste generation (MT/day)

Per Capita Average per Waste capita generation generation (gm/day of Solid Waste

Municipalities having Population less than 1 lakh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kharar Ramjibanpur Mathabhanga Joynagar-Majilpur Beldanga Memari Tamluk Ranaghat Kalyani New Barrackpore

11,580 17,364 21,100 23,315 25,361 36,245 59,109 68,754 81,984 83,183

10.26 15.83 3.71 5.81 3.98 7.37 17.86 7.72 29.14 6.69

10 11 12 14 14 16 22 19 19 19

3.5 4.2 10.0 7.0 8.0 20.0 13.2 18.0 31.0 21.5

302 242 474 300 315 552 223 262 378 258

319

Municipalities having Population between 1-5 lakhs 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Bidhannagar Rishra Titagarh Kanchrapara Bankura Santipur Midnapore Kharagpur Barasat Baranagar Burdwan Kamarhati Maheshtala South Dum Dum

1,68,400 1,13,259 1,24,198 1,26,191 1,28,811 1,38,195 1,49,761 2,07,984 2,31,521 2,50,768 2,85,871 3,14,507 3,89,000 3,92,150

29.8 6.763 3.24 9.07 19.06 25.00 18.36 35.53 34.50 7.12 14.18 10.96 42.72 15.47

23 23 23 24 23 23 24 30 30 33 35 35 35 35

11

110.0 57.0 60.0 70.0 48.6 60.0 80.0 65.0 80.0 140.0 120.0 110.0 90.5 120.0

653 503 483 555 378 434 534 313 346 558 420 350 233 306

401

Technoinsight


Municipalities having Population more than 5 lakhs 25

KMC

45,80,544

187.30

141

3000.0

655

655

Table II: Generation vis-a vis Collection of Municipal Solid Waste. Total no. of municipal towns surveyed = 25 Sl. No

Municipality

1

Memari

2

Quantity of Municipal solid waste generation per day (MT/day)

Quantity of Municipal solid waste collection per day(MT/day)

Percentage collection of solid waste per day(%)

Average of collection of solid waste per day

87.71%

20

12

60.0

Kamarhati

110

100

90.9

3

Bidhannagar

110

110

100.0

4

Kalyani

31

30

96.7

5

Rishra

57

50

87.7

6

Titagarh

60

50

83.3

7

South Dum Dum

120

100

83.3

8

Tamluk

13.2

10.56

80.0

9

Barasat

80

76

95.0

10

Ranaghat

18

17.5

97.2

11

Santipur

60

55

91.6

12

Kharagpur

65

60

92.3

13

Midnapore

114

108

94.7

14

Baranagar

140

130

92.8

15

Burdwan

120

120

100.0

16

Mathabhanga

10

6

60.0

17

Ramjibanpur

4.2

3.9

92.8

18

Beldanga

8

8

100.0

19

Kharar

3.5

3

85.7

20

New Barrackpore

21.5

17

79.0

21

KMC

3000

2810

93.6

22

Maheshtala

90.51

70.81

78.2

23

Kanchrapara

70

65

92.8

24

Joynagar-Mozilpur

7

6.5

92.8

25

Bankura

48.64

35

71.9

12

Technoinsight


The final component in the solid waste management system is disposal. Today the disposal of wastes by land filling or uncontrolled dumping is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes, whether they are residential wastes collected and transported directly to a landfill site, residual materials

from Materials Recovery Facilities, residue from the combustion of solid waste, rejects of composting, or other substances from various solid waste-processing facilities. A summarized form of the disposal options followed by the different municipal towns are given in Table III.

Table-III: Disposal Options in the Municipalities. Total no. of municipal towns surveyed = 25 Disposal Options

No. of Municipalities where the disposal options are available

% of Municipalities where the disposal options are available

25 Nil 3

100 Nil 12

Uncontrolled open dumping Sanitary/Secured land filling Composting

The composition and characteristics of municipal solid wastes vary throughout the world. Even in the same country it changes from place to place as it depends on number of factors such as social customs, standard of living, geographical location, climate, etc. MSW is heterogeneous in nature and consists of a number of different materials derived from various types of activities. The information of the nature of the waste, its composition, physical and chemical characteristics and the quantities generated are basic needs for the planning of a SWM system. During the study quantitative and qualitative

assessment of municipal solid waste were carried out for three municipal towns, namely Bidhannagar ( Adjacent to Kolkata; North 24 Parganas), Titagarh (North 24 Parganas) and Chandannagar (Hooghly).In each of the towns quantitative and qualitative analysis of MSW were carried out at five different locations including the disposal ground. Characteristics of the waste were studied at the field as per standard method and quantifications were assessed for garbage, ash, paper, plastic, ceramic, glass, rags, etc. The results of quantitative analysis as average assessment of three samples, have been presented in Table IV.

Table IV: Physical characteristics of solid waste samples Sl. No. Components of the solid waste sample

Name of the Municipal towns visited Bidhannagar Titagarh Chandannagar Average in % Percentage Composition

1 2 3

Garbage(Putrefactive part/organic) Ash/Earth(Inorganic) Paper/Cardboard box

68.93% 3.5% 4.96%

37.02% 40.72% 3.40%

40.99% 21.50% 9.16%

48.98 21.91 5.84

4 5 6 7 8

Plastic/PVC/HDPE Rags/Cotton/Textile Rubber Leather Wood

7.61% 0.75% 0.02% -

2.70% 1.10% 0.22% -

6.70% 1.76% 0.09% 0.15%

5.67 1.20 0.06 0.002 0.0015

13

Technoinsight 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Earthenware Ceramics Glass Hay/Straw/Thermocol Leaves Metals Others


3.80% 2.60% 0.10% 0.27% 0.36% 7.10%

5.30% 0.11% 0.68% 0.02% 2.50% 0.09% 6.15%

DISCUSSIONS

3.12% 0.11% 0.87% 0.10% 12.50% 0.30% 2.65%

4.07 0.001 1.38 0.07 5.09 0.25 5.30

of wastes. Normally Municipal Solid Waste Management

The existing solid waste management systems

is done by the conservancy workers. Deployment of

studied for the ULBs(Table I) in West Bengal indicate

conservancy workers are dependent on population of the

the estimated waste generation rates in gm/day for various

municipality, quantum of solid waste generation, density

population ranges as under:

of population, climate, etc. The detailed study for a few

v

municipalities indicated that both permanent and temporary

In cities having population less than 1 lakh , the

conservancy workers are involved in MSW management.

waste generation ranges between 223 gm/capita/

Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling)

day and 474 gm/capita/day. Average generation

Rules,2000 prescribes for the adoption of appropriate

of solid waste is therefore, 319 gm/capita/day. v

v

municipal solid waste management system so that

In cities having population between 1 lakh-5 lakhs,

environment is properly protected. In West Bengal,

the waste generation ranges between 233 gm/

segregation of organic and inorganic wastes at source is

capita/day and 653 gm/capita/day. Average

not at all practiced in any of the ULBs. In most of the

generation of solid waste is therefore, 401 gm/

municipal bodies of West Bengal, solid waste is collected

capita/day.

by house to house collection system or collections from

In cities with population more than 5 lakhs , the

community bins or roadside vats. Primary transportation

waste generation is 655 gm/capita/day.

is required for collection of solid wastes from different sources for transferring the collected solid wastes in bigger

Analysis of results shown in Table II for some ULBs

container for secondary transportation. The analysis of

indicated that average percentage of solid waste collection

the primary collection system in our State shows that 80-

per day in municipal towns in West Bengal is 87.71%.

85% of the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) practice house The wastes collected from community bins and roadside

to house collection system whereas 15-20% collect

vats and from the individual premises via house to house

wastes from vats or bins. The wastes are collected mainly

collection are carried to the processing and disposal sites

with the help of hand carts and pedal tri-cycles.

by employing various means of transport like trucks, Uncontrolled dumping of MSW is practiced in

tractor-trailers, dumper trucks, container-carriers, etc.

majority of the municipal bodies. This practice causes Studies indicate that both municipality owned vehicles and

aesthetic pollution and also degrades the environmental

also hired vehicles are used in secondary transportation

14

Technoinsight


quality. Composting, an environmentally friendly way of

MSW management is perhaps the most essential service

disposal is practiced in a handful of ULBs, for e.g. at

required by urban population to combat the severe

Kalyani, Chandannagar, KMC(Kolkata Municipal

implications that MSW may have on their health and to

Corporation),etc. Table III indicates that out of the 25

the overall environment. Recent developments in science

municipal bodies taken as study area, each of them

and technology have emerging process technologies, which

practice uncontrolled dumping and only three of them

can address these issues in a sustainable manner. Before

employ composting. Although the area available for

application of any kind of technology or processes it is

uncontrolled dumping is limited in most of the cases but

necessary to assess whether it is compatible with the

still it is the most widely used disposal option.

existing area and with the general characteristics of the

The quantitative analysis of MSW (Table IV)

municipal solid wastes generated. According to the study

revealed that 48.98% waste was comprised of garbage

findings, the estimated per capita solid waste generation

i.e., organic part. Around 21.91 % of MSW consisted

in our state for municipal towns ranges between 223 gm/

ash/earth/silt (inert matter). The rest 29.031% wastes

day and 655 gm/day. The primary collection system shows

were found to be the mixture of several components i.e.,

that 80.37 % ULBs are practicing house to house

paper, plastic, rags, cotton, leather, rubber, glass etc. The

collection system whereas in 19.62 % ULBs collection

study also indicated the organic part of MSW ranged

from community bins/roadside vats are prevailing. Most

between 37.02% and 68.93%. The ash contents of MSW

of the ULBs of the State practice uncontrolled dumping

have been found to be in higher proportion (40.72% to

(99%) and very few practice composting (12%)

21.50% ) except in one municipal town (Bidhannagar)

employing windrow composting or vermincomposting

where the ash content was found to be 3.5 %. Such lower

method. Secured land filling needs to be initiated in

quantum of ash in MSW in Bidhannagar town was

municipal towns. The relative percentage composition of

relevant because the town was found to be free from slum

the various physical components present in the Solid

and residents mostly use LPG for domestic cooking

Waste samples reveals that the organic fraction comprises

purpose.

about 40-60% by weight and the inorganic part is about 3-40% by weight. The rest of the solid waste samples

As per statutory requirement prescribed in Solid

consist mostly of the recyclables which constitute 20 %

Waste (Management & Handling) Rules,2000

of the total solid waste.

(CPHEEO,2000) authorization from West Bengal MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) is mandatory. But out of the 25 municipal towns only 13 ULBs have obtained

Based on the above observations we can conclude

authorization,10 ULBs have applied for authorization but

that there is an urgent need for efficient management of

have not received it yet and two of them have yet not

Solid Wastes in our State. The overall solid waste

applied for authorization.

management practices have to be enhanced, improved

CONCLUSION

and implemented on a larger scale. For example the practice of house to house collection should be extended

The generation of garbage and the problems

facilitating segregation into biodegradable and non-

associated with it require advanced management practices.

15

Technoinsight


biodegradable; the primary collection system should be

needs to be formulated considering the general

improved involving containerized collection & more

characteristics of solid wastes.

number of primary transport vehicles; street littering should be made punishable by law; effective and

Acknowledgement

economical transportation system should be incorporated;

Authors wish to thank to the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Govt. of West Bengal, Kolkata for financial

eco-friendly treatment and disposal system should be practiced. Sanitary landfilling practices need to be initiated,

support of this project. Authors wish to thank the officers of the various municipal towns for their help, cooperation and support rendered on their part and also for furnishing

developed and operated in different municipal towns. Above all, peoples’ participation in every aspect of solid waste management is of prime importance.. Private sector

valuable information used for this article.

has so far not been attracted in this important area of municipal service. However, private sector participation is being attempted by a few local bodies in the country

REFERENCES

for the past few years, which has remained restricted in

1.

Beede, D.N., Bloom, D.E., (1995). The

the area of awarding contract for transportation of waste

economics of municipal solid waste. World Bank

from waste storage depots/road side vats to the disposal

Research Observer 10 (2).

ground. In some cities, contracts are also given to clean

2.

streets, provide primary collection vehicles with labour,

Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization(CPHEEO),Ministry of

and provide secondary transportation vehicles, set up

Urban Development, Government of India, New

treatment facilities for the final disposal of waste with or

Delhi, Manual on Municipal Solid Waste

without financial participation of the urban local body.

Management (May 2000).

Management of solid waste in ULBs depends on

3.

Joshi Y, and Eashwar K.P.,(2001),Hazardous

joint initiatives of Municipal Authority and citizens. The

Waste: Special Reference-Municipal Solid Waste

ward committees could play a vital role for effective

Management, India, State of Environment, UNEP.

segregation, containerized collection and efficient

4.

transportation system. A considerable fund could be

Kumar Rakesh and Tayade Sandeep, (2008), “Existing solid waste management status in India

generated from citizen’s contribution for house to house

vis-à-vis global scenario”, Journal of

collection services, sale of inorganic recyclables, sale of

IAEM,Vol.35(1).

compost and other by-products. The Ministry of 5.

Environment and Forests, Government of India has notified

Municipal Solid Wastes(Management and

Municipal Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000.

Handling) Rules, Ministry of Environment and

These rules shall apply to every Municipal authority

Forests, Government of India, New Delhi,2000 . 6.

responsible for collection, segregation, storage,

Pokhrel, D., Viraraghavan, T., (2005). Municipal

transportation, processing and disposal of Municipal

solid waste management in Nepal: Practices and

wastes. The solid waste treatment and disposal system

challenges. Waste Management 25 (5), 555–562.

qqq 16