Advantages And Disadvantages Of Municipal Solid Waste In India

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Municipal solid waste (MSW) consists of discarded or useless materials which come to existence through human and animal activities. It is also termed as rubbish, trash or junk. As per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management &Handling) Rules, 2000 garbage is defined as Municipal Solid Waste which includes commercial and residential wastes generated in municipal or notified areas in either solid or semi-solid form excluding industrial hazardous wastes but including treated bio-medical wastes (CPCB). Municipal Solid waste can be in the form of food waste, ashes & residues, demolition & construction wastes, special wastes (street sweeping, road- side litter, catch basin-debris, dead animals, abandoned vehicles),treatment

The first chapter gives introduction on MSW, the problems related to its management and about the objectives of study. The second chapter briefly gives an idea of amount of generation of solid waste in India and compares characterization of Indian solid waste with other countries. It also focusses on MSW rules 2000, its objectives and need for energy recovery in present scenario. The third chapter is regarding various options available for energy recovery but focusses on thermal processes and their advantages, disadvantages and environmental impact. The fourth chapter deals with the related case studies on thermal processes and their energy recovery efficiency. The fifth chapter is the concluding part of the

2.2 Solid Waste Management Hierarchy In India

Indian waste Management hierarchy includes 3R concept i.e Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The main objective is to reduce amount of waste disposed in landfills. Reuse means using something whose original function has already been fulfilled and is now used for some another purpose. For example steel drums are used as compost bins and plastic bags are used as liners. Recycle means processing of used materials. It results in breakdown of original products and formation of new products. It is commonly used for valuable materials mostly metals. Example recycling of organic matter leads to formation of compost which can be used as fertilizer for soil enrichment. Recovery basically is related to harness energy from waste. Waste is incinerated to produce electricity and heat or anaerobically digested to produce biogas. Last step in Waste management hierarchy is Disposal of solid waste. The residue left after the above treatment technologies is finally stored in a disposal site. However still at this stage landfill gas in form of methane can be recovered if landfill is managed