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Solid Waste Management

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 Environmental Auditing: Management of Municipal Solid Waste

Ramachandra T.V. Shruthi Bachamanda

Energy & Wetlands Research Group, CES RNO 215 Centre for Sustainable Technology,
Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India Bangalore 560 012
E Mail: [email protected] ,
[email protected]
Telephone: 91-080-23600985 / 2293 3099/ 2293 2506
Telefax: 91-080-23601428 / 23600085 / 23600683
[CES TVR]
URL: http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/Welcome.html

Abstract

The Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) has become an acute problem due to
enhanced economic activities and rapid urbanisation. It has received increased attention by the
government in recent years to handle solid wastes in a safe and hygienic manner. In this regard,
environmental audit of MSWM for Bangalore city has been carried out through the collection of
secondary data from the government agencies, and interviewing stakeholders and field surveys.
Field survey was carried out in seven wards (representative samples of the city) to understand the
practice and the lacuna. The audit was carried out functional element wise in selected wards to
understand the efficacy and shortfalls (if any) of MSWM. 17.5% of the commercial areas have
community bins and 94% of the residential areas have adopted a door-to-door collection.
Segregation of wastes achieved in these methods of collection is 3%. There are no intermediate
transfer stations present in any of the wards. However, trucks at specified point at stipulated time
in a few wards helps to carry out the functions of a transfer station. Among the trucks used for the
disposal of wastes from wards to disposal sites, 41.43% have polythene covering. Recycling is
carried out mainly by the informal sector (rag pickers) has high level of efficiency and the
recyclables are being retrieved by this sector at all stages starting from collection to disposal of
wastes at dump sites. As the major composition of waste is organic, waste treatment option like
composting is successful in Bangalore and currently 3.14% waste reduction is achieved through
composting. Ultimately, about 79.85% of the waste is disposed in dump yards.

Keywords: Solid Waste, environmental auditing, functional elements, composting, landfill sites,
Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM)

Introduction :

Solid waste generation is a continually growing problem at global, regional and at local levels.
Solid wastes are organic and inorganic waste materials produced by various activities of the
society, which have lost their value to the first user. Improper disposal of solid wastes pollute all
the vital components of the living environment (i.e., air, land and water) at regional and global
levels. Due to rapid increase in production and consumption, quantity of wastes generated by the
urban society has increased. The problem is more acute in developing nations than in developed
nations, as the economic growth as well as urbanisation is more rapid. This necessitates
management of solid waste at generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing,
and disposal in an environmentally sound manner in accordance with the best principles of public
health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics and environmental considerations. Thus,
solid waste management includes all administrative, financial, legal, planning, and engineering
functions (Ramachandra, 2006, Ramachandra and Varghese, 2003).

The environmentally sound management of solid wastes issue had received the attention of
international and national policy making bodies and citizens. At the international level the
awareness regarding waste began in 1992 with the Rio Conference, where efficient handling of
waste was made as one of the priorities of Agenda 21
(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/agenda21.htm). The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable
Development in 2002 focused on initiatives to accelerate the shift to sustainable consumption and
production, and the reduction of resource degradation, pollution, and waste
(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/aboutCsd.htm). The priority is being given to waste
minimisation, recycle, and reuse followed by the safe disposal of waste to minimise pollution.

The government of India has taken many initiatives and implemented new technologies and
methods by giving loans for setting up composting plants to encourage proper management of
solid waste since 1960’s (MoEF, 2005). The MSWM problem was compounded with rapid
urbanisation. Due to increased public awareness of MSWM, a public litigation was filed in the
Supreme Court, which resulted in the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules,
2000. Government for the first time now has included private organisations in providing this public
service (DPCC, 2002). New methods of storage, collection, transportation, processing and disposal
are being explored and implemented. It is necessary to evaluate the current process at this stage to
understand whether the methods being implemented are suitable for the Indian scenario and to
identify the lacuna in the adopted methods. This requires an auditing of all functional elements of
MSWM considering the environmental constraints. An environmental audit of MSWM in
Bangalore city was undertaken apart from evaluating the Indian MSWM scenario to understand
the shortcomings,
 Environmental auditing first began with the principle of ‘polluters pay’ to prevent liabilities
towards the government. The companies voluntarily carried out audits of its operations and
processes to prove that their products are environmentally friendly, with the increasing awareness
of the public about environmental protection. Waste audits are undertaken for a variety of reasons,
which is to (1) ensure regulatory compliance; (2) compare actual practices to best practice
guidelines; (3) develop baseline generation data; (4) identify waste minimisation opportunities;
and (5) establish sustainable development indicators or bench marks (Ashwood et al., 1996).

In general, there are three different approaches for conducting a solid waste audit namely

(i) the back end approach, which measures the material generated by the entire facility, i.e. no
attempt is made to assess the manner in which the wastes and recyclables are generated within the
facility;

(ii) the activities approach, which tracks the waste and recyclables as they are generated throughout
the facility by performing waste audits within each activity area, e.g. an office, warehouse, or
cafeteria; and

(iii) the input/output approach, which tracks the material input and output associated with each
activity area (CCME, 1996, Dowie et al., 1998.).

Environmental audit was introduced in India to minimise generation of wastes and pollution. In
this regard, a gazette notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on March
13th , 1992 and later amended on April 22nd, 1993. This applies to an industry, operation or
process requiring consent to operate under Section 25 of the water (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1974 or under Section 21 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1981 (14 of 1981), or both, or authorisation under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986 (29 of
1986) (Srivastava, 2003). The notification requires that an Environmental Statement for the
financial year ending on 31st March be submitted to the concerned State Pollution Control Board,
on or before 30th September of the same year.

The improvement of solid waste management is one of the greatest challenges faced by the
Indian Government. The Government and the local municipal authorities have taken many
initiatives towards the improvement of the current situation (The Expert Committee, 2000). The
private sector has been included in the management of the municipal solid waste recently. To
understand the level of success in the initiatives, it is necessary to carry out an audit. An audit will
identify and bring out the lacuna and the loopholes in the current system with respect to the
compliance with environmental regulations, occupational health, resource management, pollution
prevention systems and occupational health and safety. This could be one of the best ways to
increase awareness about the most suitable approaches to municipal solid waste management, the
issues likely to be faced and the alternative measures that can be adopted considering the local
scenario.

Developed countries have provided technical assistance in SWM to developing countries

focusing SWM as a technical problem with an assumption that solid waste problem can be solved
with machineries (Lardinois, et al., 1997). The “blind technology transfer” of machinery from
developed countries to developing countries and subsequent failure has brought attention to the
need for appropriate technology (Beukering, et al., 1999) to suit the conditions in developing
countries (type of waste, composition, treatment, etc.). Composition of the waste provides a
description of the constituents of the waste and it varies widely from place to place, evident from
Table 1. The most striking difference that can be seen is the difference in organic content which is
much higher in the low income countries than the high income countries, while the paper and
plastic content which is much higher in high income countries than low income countries. This
shows the difference in consumption pattern, cultural and educational differences. In higher
income countries the usage of disposable material, magazines and packaged food is used in higher
quantity that results in a waste having higher calorific value, lower specific density, and lower
moisture content. In case of lower income countries the usage of fresh vegetables to packaged food
is much higher and mostly materials that are reusable are used. This results in a waste composition
that has high moisture content, high specific weight and low calorific value.

Table 1: Relative composition of household waste in low, medium and high-income countries

Low-income Medium- High-income

Parameter
countries income countries
Organic (putrecible), % 40 to 85 20 to 65 20 to 30
Paper, % 1 to 10 15 to 30 15 to 40
Plastics, % 1 to 5 2 to 6 2 to 10
Contents Metal, % 1 to 5 1 to 5 3 to 13
Glass, % 1 to 10 1 to 10 4 to 10
Rubber, leather, etc., % 1 to 5 1 to 5 2 to 10
Other, % 15 to 60 15 to 50 2 to 10
Physical and chemical
properties Moisture content, % 40 to 80 40 to 60 5 to 20
Specific weight, kg/m 3 250 to 500 170 to 330 100 to 170
Calorific value, kcal/kg 800 to 1100 1000 to 1300 1500 to 2700

Source: (INTOSAI working group on environmental auditing, 2002)

Municipal Solid Waste Management Audit :

Auditing has become an increasingly popular tool to assess the environmental policies, quality
of implementation, compliance with national law and regulation, etc. Auditing has also been
widely used in India especially in industries. The most popular audits that are carried out in India
are energy audits (TERI, 2002) followed by environmental management systems audit where
waste minimisation audit is an integral part (Mannan, 2002). Audits on MSWM in India is however
very rare. In western countries, however audits on urban waste management have been carried out
with respect to performance, compliance, risk, monitoring, existence of waste policy, quality of
implementation, etc. Most of the countries have established an auditing institution to carry out the
above given assessments.
 The Estonian Government had carried out an audit to assess the necessary conditions for
successful implementation of the waste wise policy. Reports and questionnaires were used for the
audit and it was observed that the management had serious shortcomings such as insufficient
finance in comparison to the goal, management lacking organisation, no national waste
management plan and poor monitoring (Linnas, 2001). Audit Institution of Costa Rica had carried
out an audit on the solid waste management in two municipalities, with multiple focus such as
pollution prevention system, management system and site audit. The audit was carried out by going
through the reports, questionnaire interviews, and site surveys. The various aspects that were
looked into are compliance with national law and regulation, occupational health and safety,
operational risk, pollution prevention and resource management. The audit identified that the
ministries were not integrated resulting in repetition of many working plans. The other findings
were insufficient public awareness programs, lack of new methodologies and technologies,
insufficient financial support and improper monitoring. The management and control of the dump
was investigated with regard to national health legislation and technical regulations. Checklists
and site surveys were used as tools for this audit. From this audit it was observed that there was
no urban cleanliness plan charted out by the municipal authority, serious violations of the
legislations, no proper monitoring by the supervision agency and delayed closure of the dump
(INTOSAI, 2002).

This paper presents an audit of the municipal solid waste management in Bangalore city. This
would help to disseminate the innovative practices that have been adopted for managing municipal
solid waste. The study explores the role of various stakeholders in MSWM, the current practices,
the role of each entity, the shortcomings of the current practices and issues to be addressed to
improve the condition. Auditing of MSWM involved the following objectives:

a) Review of the existing practices for municipal solid waste management.

b) MSWM auditing considering a case of Bangalore city.

Methods :

The approach for the case study was mainly qualitative. Information was gathered using a
variety of methods to gain a better understanding of the situation, issues, perspectives and
priorities. Data collection methods included document/literature review, semi-structured
interviews, checklists and field observations. Audits carried out to achieve the study objectives are
:

i.) Compliance audit; to check if the current waste management process is being carried out as per
the legislation,

ii.) Operational risk audit in combination with pollution prevention audit; to check the frequency
with which an environmental damage occurs and its consequences. The measures that have been
taken against these possible environmental damages were verified,

iii.) Resource management audit; to check the optimal utilization of water, energy and material
resources, and
iv.) Occupational risk audit; to verify the measures of occupational safety.

A Case Study - Environmental Audit of MSWM in Bangalore City :

The city of Bangalore (12.97°N and 77.56°E), the State capital of Karnataka is located on the
southern part of the Deccan Plateau at the border of two other South Indian states, Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh. At an elevation of 900 m it is known for its mild, salubrious climate. Since 1980s,
Bangalore has enjoyed the reputation of being one of the fastest growing cities in Asia (Dittrich,
2004). The Bangalore metropolitan area covers an area of 223 sq km, and is the fifth largest city
in India. However, with burgeoning population and increasing demands of the Information
Technology (IT) sector for improved infrastructure, the local authorities are not being able to
provide the necessary services like solid waste management, water supply, road maintenance, etc.
to a satisfactory level. The authorities however have taken initiatives and measures to achieve
compliance with regulations and reduce complaints from citizens especially in the MSWM sector.
The case study would help to identify techniques suitable for the present scenario, the lacuna or
the loopholes in the adopted methods and the possible alternatives.

The Bangalore City Corporation (BCC), which has 100 wards within its municipal jurisdiction,
has a population of 4,292,223 accounting for 75.48 percent of the total population of Bangalore
Urban Agglomeration of which 2,240,956 are males and 2,051,267 are females. The decadal
growth rate of population for the decade 1991-2001 for Bangalore City is as high as 61.36 percent.
This high growth rate can be attributed not only to the extension of the municipal limits of
Bangalore City but also to the ever-increasing population.

The amount of waste generated in Bangalore city varies from 1700 MT/day to 2300 MT/day
and the composition of waste is given in Table 2. The Bangalore Metropolitan Area is divided into
30 ranges and 100 Revenue wards under the jurisdiction of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP).
BMP is responsible for the solid waste management policy, setting up the targets and objectives.
Revenue wards are further divided into 294 health wards for proper management of the sanitation
functions. Out of these 294 health wards 112 are managed by BMP, while 182 wards have been
assigned to private agencies on contract basis.

Table 2 : Physical characteristics of Bangalore Municipal Solid Waste

Organic waste (%) 60

Dust (%) 5
Paper (%) 12
Plastic (%) 14
Glass (%) 4
Metal (%) 1
Bio Medical Waste (%) 1
Card Board (%) 1
Rubber (%) 1
Miscellaneous (%) 1
Source : BMP

A checklist was prepared prior to the visit, to check the presence or absence of techniques used,
safety measures adopted, compliance with regulatory measures and pollution prevention system
adopted. Site survey was done in seven representative sample wards (Shivajinagar, Malleswaram,
Koramangala, Indian Institute of Science campus (IISc), Hindustan Machine Tools colony (HMT),
Airport Road and Chikpet). The presence and absence of each was marked in the checklist for
techniques adopted, safety measures, compliance with regulatory measures and pollution
prevention. Interviews of health Inspectors, workers and lorry drivers were done at the ward level.
Discussions with Range health officers, Zonal health officers, Chief health Officer and the Special
Commissioner helped in understanding the structure and management of the system, which helped
to understand the objectives, strategies, success, failure of strategies and the issues faced while
implementing strategies. The site surveys and ward level interviews helped to, verify the process
and to identify the lacuna in each functional element. Site visits to the Karnataka Compost
Development Corporation (KCDC), Terra Firma Biotechnologies, and dump yards at Betahalli, K.
R. Puram and Bomanhalli was done to evaluate the waste processing techniques and disposal
options. The practice adopted for MSWM is explained functional element wise through a flow
chart in Figure 1.
 Figure 1: Current MSWM practice in Bangalore city

Storage: Waste is stored in 14,000 bottomless and lidless cement bins having 0.9 meters
diameter and 0.6 cubic meter storage capacity and large masonry bins for depositing waste placed
at a distance of 100-200 meters. Recently 55 metal containers have been placed at different parts
of the city. However not all parts of the city are provided with storage systems. In some places,
the wastes are just deposited on roadsides.

Collection: The most common practice of waste collection from households in Bangalore city
is door-to-door collection followed by community bin collection. Door to door collection of wastes
is done using pushcarts. There are totally 2105 pushcarts in operation in Bangalore, which consists
of 4 buckets that are used to store dry wastes and wet wastes separately. There are 6500
pourakarmikas in charge of door to door collection, sweeping, emptying dustbins and clearing
black spots. They arrive at a designated spot to transfer the waste to the truck. Trucks have a
capacity of 4-5 tonnes capacity and are either open or covered with a mesh. The ratio of truck to
ward is 4:20. Other collection systems consist of bullock carts, tricycles etc. Collection is
sometimes difficult due to narrow roads and due to this waste is not picked on time causing
unsanitary conditions. There are no transfer stations in Bangalore.

In 2003, the door-to-door collection was implemented in 60 health wards. As per the BMP, all
wards in the city are supposed to have door-to-door collection with the removal of community
bins. However, during site survey, it was observed that many of the wards still have community
bins that are in a very dilapidated state. A large quantity of organic waste is generated from 12
commercial vegetable markets. This waste is being collected twice a day using separate trucks.
The waste collected in pushcarts from lanes is transferred to a truck at a meeting point called a
synchronisation point. The truck arrives at the designated location at a specified time. The waste
is transported to disposal site by means of a large capacity tipper truck and in few wards by a small
capacity tipper truck or dumper placers. The truck is covered with a mesh and a polythene sheet
to prevent scattering. Currently, Bangalore city has no transfer stations for intermediate storage
and segregation of wastes.

Processing of Wastes: The Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) was one of
the 11 composting units set up in 1975 based on the technology suggested by WHO (WHO, 2002).
Within a year, 10 of these units had to be closed, because the technology suggested by WHO was
unable to successfully handle un-segregated Indian waste for composting. In addition, the quality
of the compost was poor due to existence of glass splinters and other non-biodegradable material
due to the usage of crushing and grinding machines. In the 70’s, KCDC processed 50-60 tons of
mixed waste per day. Currently, KCDC handles 150 metric tonnes of raw garbage/day in the yard.

Disposal: In Bangalore, the waste collected from roads and bins is directly transported to the
final disposal site, at Betahalli (Mavallipuram) dump yard situated 18 km north west of Bangalore
city. There is the likelihood of soil and groundwater contamination due to this practice. Birds
(scavengers), vermin, insects and animals are attracted to the open dump for feeding and breeding.
Since many of these may act as disease vectors, their presence may constitute a potential health
problem. Sometimes plastic and other contraries are burnt, which may be hazardous to human
health. Landfilling of wastes is not practiced in Bangalore

The waste is brought in by the municipal and contract lorries. This waste is dumped in the yard
in a form of a heap. There are three front End Loaders in the dump yard for waste levelling. The
waste is sprayed with EM (Effective Microorganisms) solution, covered with a 10 cm layer of
debris and sprayed with water after levelling. The solution used for spraying is prepared by mixing
4 litres of EM solution with 8 kg of molasses or Jaggery and 150 litres of water. After mixing it is
allowed to stay for 7-8 days after which the pH reduces to 3.4. The EM stock solution consists of
actinomycetes, photosynthetic bacteria, yeast, Lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus sp.,
Streptococcus sp., Streptomyces sp., Rhodopseudomonas sp., Saccharomyces sp.,
Propionibacterium sp.), which speeds up the degradation process and reduces the volume, flies
and odour. The observations made on the site are:

 A large number of rag pickers collect recyclable waste from the landfill and pay a
small amount to have access to the waste.
 There is a recycling dealer in the dump yard itself who buys the recyclable material from
the rag pickers and there is one dealer on the way to the dump yard that buys the recyclable
waste from the lorry driver.
 The levelling of MSW after dumping is not carried out efficiently due to less number of
front end loaders.
 The foul odour was strong and could be inhaled at long distances.
 Large number of flies, birds and stray dogs.
 There is emission of methane gas from the dump yard, due to which the waste can be easily
set on fire.
 There is always a queue of at least 5-10 Lorries waiting to unload; this is due to the lack of
number of front-end loaders to level the MSW.
 This dump yard has no fencing, weigh bridge and no proper approach roads.

The Stakeholders and their responsibilities: The municipal waste management system and the
relationship among the stakeholders is depicted in Figure 2. Various stakeholders are the
Figure 2: Municipal Solid Waste Management System in India
i.) Ministry of Environment and Forests is responsible for all of the environmental policies at
the national level, including the management of waste. The Ministry has an overview of all
the activities of the MSWM sector and makes sure that it is performed well.

ii.) Central Pollution Control Board keeps a check on all the activities that have potential to pollute
the environment, which includes the monitoring of the municipal solid waste management in the
country. It has divisions in each state that report to CPCB on the environmentally hazardous
activities in the state, the actions taken towards them and the improvements made by the industries
and public towards a cleaner environment (CPCB, 1998).

iii.) Karnataka Pollution Control Board keeps a check on all the activities that have the potential
to pollute the environment, which includes the monitoring of the municipal solid waste
management in the state. It reviews the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the
agencies prior to the construction of a landfill site, installation of an incinerator or any other
processing plants. It carries out public participation meeting to make the public aware of the
proposed project to minimise the likely confrontation or agitation due to lack of information.

iv.) Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is responsible for management policy, setting up the targets
and objectives. They are responsible for managing the solid waste in the city and are answerable
to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. They also have the authority to privatise the solid
waste management sector.

v.) Organisational Structure of the Health Department: The hierarchy of the health department in
charge of SWM is a pyramidal structure headed by the Chief Health Officer. For effective
administration, the city has been divided into three zones namely east, west and south. A Zonal
Health Officer administers each zone. There are two Deputy Health Officers to assist him. Each
zone consists of 10 ranges headed by a Medical Officer of Health. Each Medical Officer of Health
is assisted by Senior, Junior Health Inspectors and Sanitary Daffedars. The field worker who is
employed in the sanitation work is known as pourakarmika.

vi.) NGO: Swabhimana, Waste wise, Swachha Bangalore, Shuchi Mitras, etc. are some Non
Governmental Orgainsations (NGO's) that support the MSWM. Their functions are stated below:

• They carry out public grievance meetings to identify the problem spots and convey these
complaints to the authorities.

• They collaborate with authorities to carry out the door-to-door collection of segregated waste.

• They identify public volunteers to monitor the solid waste management in their respective areas.

• Few NGOs have also set up decentralised composting plants in residential areas and for this they
also carry out door-to-door collection and educate public to segregate the waste prior to disposal.
• They carry out public meetings in schools, colleges, public places etc. to educate the public about
segregation of waste, non-littering, etc.

vii.) Private formal sector : Currently out of the 294 health wards in Bangalore city, 182 wards
have been given on contract to private agencies. This includes the functions of collection of waste,
transfer of waste to trucks, transport of waste to the specified dump yard. The dump yards that are
currently being used are all owned by private entities. They have the responsibility of disposing of
the waste by alternative layering of waste and soil, spraying it with EM solution and water.
Processing of wastes is done by:

• Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), which is a government-aided

organisation. This carries out the function of composting (windrow and vermicomposting).

• Terra Firma Biotechnologies, which is a private organisation that carries out vermicomposting.

• Ramky Consultants, which is a private consultancy proposing to set up a sanitary landfill site in
Bangalore .

• Srinivas Gayathri Resource Recovery, which is a private consultancy proposing to set up a waste
to energy plant and a sanitary landfill site in Bangalore .

viii.) Private informal sector : The informal sector in the city is very large and plays a very vital
role in the MSWM. It comprises of the rag pickers who retrieve recyclable waste from the
community bins and landfills, the people who buy recyclable waste from households usually called
as ‘batli wallas', the middlemen who buy waste from the rag pickers and ‘batli wallas' and sell it
to either bigger dealers or to recycling factories. Municipal workers like the pourakarmika collects
waste from the households and retrieve the recyclable waste, even the lorry workers retrieve the
recyclable waste before transferring the waste into the lorry. The waste retrieved by them is sold
to the informal sector.

ix.) Donor agencies : DCN (Development Corporation of Norway ), GTZ (Deutsch Gesellschaft
fur Technische Zusammenarbeit) and WHO (World Health Organization) are a few of the
international organisations that have sponsored projects in Bangalore . WHO has sponsored large
scale composting plants all over India and DCN has sponsored decentralised plants all over
Bangalore .

x.) Service users comprise of the entire public in the city and also include the tourists visiting the
city.

Results and Discussion :

The shortcomings while implementing the techniques (functional element wise) have been
identified in all sampled wards and the same for Mallewaram ward is listed in Table 3. Door to
door collection is adopted in this ward, which has resulted in efficient collection of waste, and
reduction of littering, foul odour and unaesthetic appearance of bins. However, in commercial
areas due to the absence of community bins, wastes generated in odd hours, is disposed off by
traders in the street. Few waste heaps were seen on the roadsides in commercial areas. All the
trucks that are used for transportation of waste have meshes that prevents littering of waste, but 40
% of the trucks have partial polythene cover and 20 % have no polythene cover that results in
scattering of waste and foul odour during transport. The recycling process is carried out by the
informal sector that has resulted in high efficiency of recovery of recyclable material. There is no
other process carried out leading to the entire waste being disposed. There is a large quantity of
organic waste that is produced in this ward, including organic waste generated in a market. The
waste is disposed in the Betahalli dump yard, causing foul odour, scattering, leachate formation,
and air pollution from burning and methane emission from decomposing organic matter.

Table 3 : MSWM in Malleswaram (Ward 7)

Function Shortcoming Suggestion

Storage
The waste is stored in
households and in shops
until it is collected by the
door to door collector
Collection
Door to Door method - 70% of drums are not painted as per Painting of drums at regular
Adopted in the whole the regulations of green for intervals to make it more
ward, for residential and biodegradable, white for recyclable convenient to workers
commercial areas and black for mixed
Segregation not carried out by Workers accept only segregated
worker nor householder, though waste from households
separate bins are provided
The recyclable waste is PET bottles and thin plastic bags
retrieved by the worker are not retrieved. The soiled
and sells it separately to recyclable material cannot be
the informal sector retrieved.
Waste heaps found near Placement of large community bins
commercial areas in commercial areas (in commercial
area there is a possibility of sudden
generation of a large quantity of
waste that cannot be stored in the
shop till the next day)
Small litter bins should be provided
for the pedestrians in commercial
areas and bus stands
Sweeping The dirt is pushed into the drains The workers educated on the affects
which blocks the drains of blocked drains and regular
inspection of drains
Workers do not use the gloves and Mandatory usage of the protection
footwear that are provided for gear provided
protection
Transfer and Transport
The waste collected in The waste even if segregated by the A small capacity truck and a large
pushcarts from narrow workers and stored in separate capacity truck can be assigned for
lanes and meet at a drums, the waste gets mixed during the collection of dry and wet waste
synchronisation point at a transfer from pushcarts to lorry. respectively. A better option is to
specified time. The waste This is because there is no facility have a partition in a single truck for
is transferred from the in the lorry for separate storage of the collection of segregated waste.
pushcart to the truck. waste
The lorry worker retrieves PET bottles and thin plastic bags Only segregated waste should be
recyclable material are not retrieved. The soiled accepted to be filled into the lorry
during transfer of waste recyclable material cannot be
from push cart to lorry retrieved.
BMP truck - 3 Large Mesh covering - 5 trucks, No Trucks completely covered with
capacity tipper Polythene covering - 1, Partial polythene to prevent scattering of
Polythene covering - 2 trucks, waste and foul odour
Complete polythene covering - 2
trucks
Contract truck - 1 large There is leakage of wet waste from Provision of proper enclosure
capacity tipper truck during transportation
Trip truck - 1 large Foul odour emitted from the waste Regular inspections
capacity tipper during transportation
The waste is not segregated at an Transfer stations to be provided
intermediate level and is directly where waste can be further
transported to the disposal site segregated and higher efficiency
for transportation can be achieved
by increasing the number of trips
made by each truck
Long distance from ward to dump
site, hence only one trip a day is
made by each truck
Manual transfer of waste Mechanical loading collection
vehicles or proper equipment for
transfer of waste
Process No processing carried out prior to Recycling of the recyclable
disposal material retrieved from waste
Composting
High quantity of yard waste
generated in the ward and also high
quantity of organic waste generated
from the market and households
Disposal
Dump yard in Betahalli Foul odour, flies and bird menace Usage of higher quantity of EM
solution
Stray dog nuisance
 Waste burnt emitting toxic fumes Waste burning should be prohibited
and causing air pollution and strict action should be taken if
still continued
Waste is dumped in heaps causing Usage of front end loaders for
scattering leveling and use soil cover
Soil contamination
The lorry workers and drivers are Provision of masks and safety gear
exposed to diseases
Rag pickers retrieve the High exposure to diseases Provision of masks and safety gear
recyclable material from
the landfill
Closure of dumpsite and
replacement with sanitary landfill

Ward wise auditing of functional components of MSWM is given in Table 4. In sampled wards
of Bangalore, the waste is stored in open or closed community bins. The survey covers 30% of
community bins in Shivajinagar and 33% in IISc campus. The waste collection is carried out by
both community bin and door-to-door collection. The survey shows that, it is essential to have
community bins along with the door-to-door collection in commercial areas to avoid littering. Door
to door collection method has been implemented in all areas of the city as it is a suitable method
for collection from residential areas and also suitable for collection of segregated waste. Even
though, the door-to-door collection has been implemented in 94% of the residential areas in
Bangalore, only 3 % of the waste is segregated at source. There are currently no transfer stations
in Bangalore and all the waste is directly transported to the disposal site. This is very expensive,
and inefficiency as the trucks are not being utilised optimally. As per the regulations, all trucks
should have mesh and polythene covering. Ninety six percent of the trucks have mesh covering
and of these, 41% of the trucks have polythene along with mesh cover. Even though, there is a
scope for recycling and composting, the quantity of waste processed in terms of recycling or
composting is very low. 18% of the total waste generated is recycled by the informal sector in the
city, while 3.15% of the waste is reduced through composting. Finally, 78.85% of waste is
disposed off at the dump yard.

Table 4 : Ward wise Auditing of functional components of MSWM

Airpo
Functio Techniqu Shivajinag Malleswara Koramanga IIS H.M. Chickp
rt
n e ar m la c T et
Road
% of
Communi covered 30 33 84
Storage ty bin bins
% area
covered in
40 0 0 <> 30
Collectio Communi commerci
n ty bin al areas
 % area
covered in
100 100 100 60 100 100 100
Door to residentia
door l areas
% of
waste
0 0 20 5 0 0 0
segregate
d
Transfer
A A A A A A A
Transfer station
Truck
Transpor with mesh 100 100 100 75 100 100 100
t Truck %
Truck
with mesh
and 75 40 75 0 0 0 100
polythene
cover %
% of
waste 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
Process recycled Informal
% of
waste
22
composte
d Formal
% of
waste for
anaerobic
digestion
% of
waste
incinerate
d
Sanitary
Disposal landfill
Dump
85 85 63 85 85 85 85
yard

The compliance audit through checklist (Table 5), provide insights to the functional unit wise
regulations being followed by the authorities and private companies, which are discussed next :

Table 5 : Compliance Audit of MSWM

Checklist for compliance Sample Wards
Airpor
Shivajinaga Malleswara Koramangal IIS HM Chickpe
Function Regulation t Road
r 79 m7 a 67 c5 T1 t 28
73
Storage
No littering
X X X v v X X
on the streets?
No littering
X na na X X v X
around bins?
Are the bins
X na na X X v X
covered?
Are the bins
cleared every v na na v v v v
24 hrs.?
The storage
facility is
designed
taking into
account the
quantity of
X na na v v X X
waste
generated in a
given area
and the
population
density
Aesthetically
X na na v X X X
acceptable
Bins have
easy to
X na na v X X X
operate
design
Bins for
Biodegradabl
e waste are
painted green,
for recyclable
X v v X v v v
waste is
painted white
and other
waste are
painted black.
No manual
handling of X X X X X X X
waste
 Manual
handling with
proper v v v v v v v
precaution
and safety
Segregation
Organisation
of awareness
programs to
ensure
v v v X X X v
Community
participation
in waste
segregation
Arranging
meeting at
X X X X X X X
quarterly
intervals
Arranging
meetings at
X X X X X X X
monthly
intervals
Arranging
meetings
v v v X X X v
every once in
6 months
Collection
Door to door
collection/
community v v v v v v v
bin/ block
collection
Segregation
X X X X X X X
done at source
Collection
from slums
X v v v v v X
and squatter
area
Collection
from hotels/
restaurants/ V V V V V V V
office
complexes
Separate
v v v v v v v
collection of
waste from
slaughter
houses/ meat
and fish
markets/ fruit
and vegetable
markets
No mixing of
Biomedical
wastes and
v v v X v v v
industrial
wastes with
MSW
Usage of hand
driven
containerized
carts for the
collection and
v v v X v v v
transfer of
waste to
trucks or
community
bins
Horticulture,
dairies and
construction
and
v v v v v v v
demolition
waste is
collected
separately
No burning of
Waste
v v v v v v v
(garbage, dry
leaves)
No stray
animals
allowed to
X X X X X X X
move around
waste storage
facilities
No stray
animals
X X X X X X X
allowed to
move around
 other places
in city or town
Notification
of the waste
collection
schedule and
the likely
X X X X X X X
method to be
adopted for
public benefit
by Municipal
Authority
Has the public
been educated
about the law
stating that it
is the
responsibility
of the waste
generator to
avoid littering
and ensure
X X X X X X X
delivery of
wastes in
accordance
with the
collection and
segregation
system
notified by
the Municipal
Authority
Transportatio
n
Waste
transportation
v v v X v v v
vehicles are
covered
Waste during
transportation
X X X X X X X
not visible to
public
Waste not
X X X X X X X
scattered
 during
transportation
Waste
collected
daily and
v v v v v v v
before
overflow of
bin
Multiple
handling of v v v v v v v
waste avoided

Process Regulations KCDC Terra Firma

Agreement between the private agency and the
v v
Composting municipal authority for supply of solid waste
Waste storage area be covered, else should have an
impermeable base with facility for collection of leachate
v v
and surface water run-off into lined drains leading to a
leachate treatment and disposal facility
Precautions shall be taken to minimise nuisance of
v v
odour, flies, rodents, bird menace and fire hazard;
During breakdown of plant the waste intake is stopped
v v
and is diverted into a landfill
Segregation prior to process and constant removal of
X X
rejects
Constant removal of rejects post processing v v
Recyclables routed through appropriate vendors v v
Non-recyclables sent to well designed landfill sites v v
For windrow composting provided with impermeable
v na
base
Made of concrete or compacted clay, 50 cm thick,
v na
having permeability coefficient less than 10-7 cm/sec.
The base shall be provided with 1 to 2 percent slope and
circled by lined drains for the collection of leachate or v na
surface run-off;
Ambient air quality monitoring is regularly carried out v X
Compost quality as per standards v v
Treated leachate complies to standards na na
Disposal Regulation
Site selection (proposed
Mandur Mavallipura
sites)
The landfill site shall be large enough to last for 20-25 years v v
The landfill site is away from habitation clusters v v
The landfill site is away from forest areas v v
The landfill site is away from waterbodies v v
The landfill site is away from monuments v v
The landfill site is away from National Parks v v
The landfill site is away from Wetlands v v
The landfill site is away from places of important cultural,
v v
historical or religious interest.
The landfill site is at least 20km away from airport including
v X
airbase
If not, necessary approval should be obtained na X
wastes processing facility shall be planned as an integral part of the
v v
landfill site.
A buffer zone of no-development is maintained around landfill site
and incorporated in the Town Planning Department's land use X X
plans

i.) Storage : It was observed that the placement of bins has not been done keeping in mind
the population density and the quantity of waste generated. There is a lack of community
bins in few of the commercial areas. Due to the high generation of waste (39%) in commercial
areas, the waste is not always stored on site, but disposed on the roadsides causing anaesthetic
appearances. Well-designed community bins have to be placed in commercial areas
depending on the quantity of waste generated. The maintenance of the present bins is poor,
which is evident from rusted bins with sharp edges. This can prove to be dangerous to the
collection staff and also to the users. The staff must be provided with protective gadgets like
well fitting gloves. Community bins with partitions, proper colouring and labelling would
help in segregated waste collection. To improve the separation of waste at source and
throughout the MSWM process, adequate staffing, supervision, procedures, training,
posters, verbal reminders to defaulters, reporting, meetings and equipments are required.

ii.) Collection : Adopting the door-to-door collection method has proved to have many advantages
like removal of unanaesthetic bins, and reduction in stray dogs and cattle menace. This has also
helped in improved waste handling by residents. This method is also better suited for collection of
segregated waste. However, door-to-door collection at stipulated time has its own limitations. For
example, in commercial areas, due to higher quantity of waste generation, the shopkeeper finds it
difficult to store the waste on site and hence this waste ends up on the street. Even though, separate
drums have not been provided for segregated waste collection, public and pourakarmikas are
following segregation of wastes while disposing off in bins. This is due to lack of awareness and
general attitude of public and pourakarmikas. This highlights the need for awareness programs and
training programs at a regular frequency. It has to be kept in mind that such practices are not easy
to instil and will take many months or even years to implement. Here again, adequate staffing,
supervision, procedures, training, posters, verbal reminders, reporting, meetings and equipment
are required to achieve success. The participation of NGO's in such programs can prove to be very
helpful to the authorities in making this a success. During door-to-door collection the
pourakarmika manually segregates the waste. It is very important that this is carried out with proper
protection like gloves. The staff should be provided with gloves, footwear, apron, masks and
goggles for safety as they are constantly exposed to waste every day.

iii.) Transfer and Transport: The innovative idea of synchronisation points that has been adopted
by the municipality to transfer waste from pushcarts to trucks has proved to be successful. This
has reduced the spillage, space requirement for intermediate storage. Apart from this, collection
happens at stipulated time as the workers and trucks have to meet at a specified time and location.
The transfer of wastes from smaller drums is also much easier and safer than from large community
bins. The trucks that are currently used do not have provision for separate collection of waste. This
results in the mixing of waste even if the waste is collected separately. Trucks with partition or
two trucks can be provided - one truck for the collection of organic and mixed waste and another
truck for collection of recyclable waste. The truck for recyclable waste can have a frequency of
once in three days as the quantity of recyclable waste generated is much lesser compared to organic
waste. Transfer of waste is carried out manually so it is very important to have proper safety gear
like gloves, apron, masks and goggles for porakarmikas. The vehicles used for the transportation
of waste are in a good condition. Most of the trucks have a mesh covering and of these, about 50-
60% has the polythene layer along with mesh cover. It is very essential that all trucks have mesh
and polythene covering with a proper enclosure to prevent scattering of waste, foul odour and
leakage while travelling on crowded roads.

iv.) Treatment Process: The only treatment option that is provided for Bangalore city is
composting. This is carried out only for 400 MT/day while the total amount of waste generated is
about 2300 MT/day. Of this, KCDC handles 150 metric tonnes of raw garbage/day in the yard.
Out of 100 tonnes of raw garbage, 55 tonnes of compost is obtained. Due to constraints of land,
finance and demand, the facility can handle only 120 tonnes of wastes. As such out of the 369
vegetable markets in and around the city, wastes from only two markets are being processed for
composting. Vermicomposting is also practised to handle a portion of the waste. Dry wastes such
as plastic, rubber, glass and other contraries are later disposed off. There have been proposals for
setting up three integrated waste management sites that have composting and sanitary landfills.
This action needs to be hastened to prevent the excessive damage being caused by open dumping
of large quantities of waste every day. Other treatment options also should be considered like
decentralised anaerobic digesters near markets. This will not only produce biogas but also reduce
the transportation cost of waste to landfill sites. Waste to energy plants like production of refuse
derived fuels and incineration plants can be set up to use waste from commercial areas once the
source segregation process is set in place.

v.) Disposal: In the current MSWM system, the function that has been totally ignored is that of
final disposal of MSW. The current method of disposal adopted as explained earlier is extremely
hazardous to the environment and can cause irreversible damage to the surrounding areas. The
unauthorised open dumping of waste is also carried out near crowded slum areas. This is extremely
hazardous to the people living around that area. The identification and closure of such dumps
should be given the topmost priority. The setting up of the sanitary landfill sites integrated with
composting plants should be hastened.

Some important factors that need to be considered for the overall improvement of the waste
management system are:

i. Data management : Geographic Information system (GIS) consisting of spatial and attribute
information along with Global Positioning System (GPS) would help in monitoring the
unauthorised activities, by monitoring the number of trucks and trips made by trucks to the
specified disposal site. To improve data management there should be commitment to improving
reliability of the waste data from the staff and authorities. Greater confidence in data will help in
monitoring the efficiency of the collection, transportation, processing of wastes and disposal
options.

ii. Training and Education : Environmental education is a way of increasing understanding of

problems, cooperation among stakeholders, environmental entrepreneurship and environmental
performance. The training should be a regular feature of MSWM with hands on training on sorting
and collection. After training, there should be follow up of the practices.

iii. Health and safety program : It has been a common observation that in Bangalore , maintenance
staffs do not use the protection gear that is provided to them. Regular health and safety programs
is required to educate the staff on the ill effects of manual handling of waste, walking bare foot in
dump yards and continuous exposure to waste. Regular health check ups should be carried out to
monitor the health of the workers.

iv. Community participation : The community involvement in waste management monitoring

programs like Suchi Mitra should be encouraged and more people should be involved in such
activities. This increases the environmental awareness of the participants and the surrounding
people. This has proved to be one of the effective ways to bring awareness among public about
waste management.

v. Integration of Informal sectors: NGO's should organise waste pickers and methods of retrieving
waste from the source by the waste pickers should be developed, instead of the waste pickers
retrieving waste at the dump yard which is extremely hazardous to their health. Additionally, the
waste pickers should be paid to retrieve waste from process plants and dump yards, instead of them
paying to access the waste. Ways of improving the working conditions of the waste pickers and
providing safety gear for them should be developed.

vi. Planning: The waste management that is being carried out currently is more of low cost
measures to comply with regulation, avoid public agitation and complaints. There is no
environmental management planning that is taken into consideration. Improper planning before
setting up the sanitary landfill sites has lead to increased public agitation and legal complications
that have delayed the project for a very long period. Although an informal approach to problem
solving may have worked reasonably well, a more systematic and proactive approach to
management is required when the complexity of the program increases. This would help to ensure
that requirements are handled in a consistent and professional way and problems are addressed
promptly and effectively. This would also ensure that staffs have a clear understanding of
objectives while carrying out their activities.

vii. Monitoring: D uring waste collection, transfer, process and disposal, monitoring needs to be
an integral part of the waste management system. The municipal authority not only has to monitor
their own staff activities but also the activities carried out by the private organisations carrying out
their services. The State pollution control board has to carry out regular inspections of the dump
yards and stop open dumping as it causes serious air, land and water pollution problems.

viii. Public participation: Currently the main hindrance for the implementation of the sanitary
landfill sites is due to lack of information dissemination to the public. It is very essential that before
any project is implemented, a public participation meeting be held to make the public aware of the
technology used in sanitary landfill and the impacts.

Conclusion :

The audit has brought out the key issues that need immediate attention and minor lacunas that
pose major hindrance in the further process of the system. In collection 17.5% of the commercial
areas have community bins and 94% of the residential areas have adopted the door-to-door method,
with these methods of collection only 3% of waste segregation has been achieved. There are no
transfer stations present and out of the trucks present only 41.43% have polythene covering.
Recycling is carried out mainly by the informal sector achieving a high level of efficiency. 18%
of the total waste generated is recycled by this sector in the city. 3.15% of waste reduction is
achieved through composting and 78.86% of the waste is disposed in dump yards.

The waste disposal needs immediate attention and strict monitoring. The setting up of sanitary
landfill sites needs to be given top priority. The number of waste processing plants has to be
increased to manage total quantity of waste generated. Many new techniques have been
implemented for storage, collection, transfer and transportation. These techniques have brought
about many positive changes and have increased the efficiency of the MSWM system. However,
segregation of waste at each step is not being carried out. The segregation of waste during storage,
collection and transportation has to be set in place for the efficient running of the waste processing
like composting. Proper training and education needs to be provided to the workers and public
awareness programs should be conducted regularly. The occupational health and safety measures
taken by the authorities are not sufficient. Health and safety programs has to be conducted regularly
to check the health condition of the workers in the various areas of MSWM and they should be
educated on the health hazards related to their work and the importance of wearing the safety gear.

MSWM in Bangalore has definitely improved in areas of collection and transportation however,
waste processing and disposal is still a pressing problem. The informal network is very active in
areas of recycling as this constitutes their only livelihood. However, there are various issues or
constraints that have to be tackled to achieve significant strides in waste management. The issues
that have to be addressed are:
• Provision of closed container and mobile waste storage depots and abolition of open waste
storage sites.

• Processing of wastes for generating compost, power and other useful products.

• Disposal of wastes in an environmentally acceptable manner through establishment of

sanitary landfill site.

• Improving the financial health of the local urban bodies.

• Encouraging private sector participation in waste management.

• Institutional strengthening and human resources development

• Use of Geoinformatics (GPS, GIS with land use information)

• Provision for enforcement of sanitation laws and rules.

• Effective public participation in segregation of recyclable wastes, primary collection of

wastes and storage of waste at source.

Acknowledgement :

We thank the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India and Indian Institute
of Science for the financial support. We are grateful to the officials of the government agencies
and in particular, Mr Shridhar Murthy, Council Officer, BMP, Dr Vijay Kumar S. Biradar, Medical
officer of Health and H.C. Anathswamy, Chief solid waste engineer, BMP for extending the
cooperation during field visits and data compilation. We thank all the BMP officers and staff for
providing me information and support.

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 WASTE MANAGEMENT: A NEW PARADIGM

John Jacob Puthur

Commander, Indian Navy (Retired), Charge Hydrographer,

BSc., FIS, FGS, FCA

Biodata

Abstract

Waste management—collection and disposal of waste—is a complex and burgeoning issue

facing the world today. It is nearly spiralling out of control in big cities with direct impact on the
general health and well being of the population. Waste generated can be classed into three broad
categories: domestic waste—generated by humans, as part of their daily living, industrial waste—
generated by the industry as a direct offshoot of the production of goods and services, and
agricultural waste—generated by the agricultural sector and the associated processing enterprises.
The waste management strategies must address all these three categories in a holistic manner,
because there is hardly a margin separating one from another. At the outset, before laying down
the strategies for waste management, we must be very clear as to what we mean by the word
‘waste’. Most see ‘waste’ as something they have no need for, have no use of, or have no value. It
is hardly a clear definition. In fact, it is more a matter of attitude, than any concrete criteria, and
therefore differs from person to person. An empty milk sachet that we throw away as ‘waste’ is an
item of livelihood for a rag picker or waste dealer.

The carbon dioxide emission from stoves and cars may be the ‘waste’ that causes global
warming through the greenhouse effect, but in fact, it is actually the food for plants and trees—the
carbon sinks. But the problem is—there aren’t enough rag pickers, waste dealers or even plants
and trees to absorb all the waste we generate today. Waste is simply accumulating, and the attempt
is being made only to keep it out of sight. The problem continues to remain, and is turning more
acute as the days go by. Most tend to see the entire issue of waste management as the function of
the governments, corporations or municipalities. But that is not working out, any more, anywhere.
Even if it somehow manages to hold out, it is by far very inefficient, and would soon become
unsustainable. It is therefore time to wake up and take responsibility for the waste that each of us
generate, as individuals or institutions. Taking such a responsibility would simply mean—firstly,
being accountable for the waste each generates; secondly, ensuring safe disposal of such waste to
its logical end use, directly or through appropriate agencies, duly paying for that service; and
thirdly, taking necessary measures to mitigate the environmental impact due to waste, particularly
that which cannot be contained.

This paper addresses primarily the issue of taking responsibility for the waste we generate, and
also to lay down a viable system of accounting and dealing with waste, so that the burgeoning
waste dumps, and polluted soils, waters and air are no longer a legacy left for the coming
generations. It is pertinent to note that it is certainly not an easy solution, but then there are no easy
solutions for the problems we humans create.
Introduction

We have become used to seeing what we no longer need, or have any use of, or find any value
as waste. And we deal with that waste by simply disposing away into the waste dump. That is a
simplistic way of dealing with the complex subject of waste. In nature, there is nothing called
waste. Everything is reused, or recycled and then used. We, humans, are also a part of this nature.
Accordingly, we too lived according to its tenets, that is, until quite recently. However, with the
dawn of consumerist civilization driven by rapid industrialisation, and more recently,
globalisation, we began to see ourselves as separated from the nature. Vicious cycle ensued—
rampant production of goods and services—generation of wealth, albeit for few nations and
individuals—conspicuous consumption. More than anything else, this turned the world into a
waste dump—not just in detriment to those alive, but also the generations yet unborn.

We now behave more like obsessively greedy kids. We just want more and more ‘toys’ to play
with—to live happily. When we gets bored with a ‘toy’, or when we don’t like a ‘toy’, or we want
a latest ‘toy’, we wreck the old ones, and throw them away into the waste dump. And it is someone
else’s job to keep that waste dump out of our sight. A saving grace, at least in India, is the emaciated
‘kabadiwala’ who pedals to our doorsteps on his rickety bicycle to collect whatever waste we
hadn’t thrown away. He pays for that too! Yet we bargain to squeeze a rupee or two out of him.
This kabadiwala is the first cog in the waste recycling business. The desperate rag-pickers join
hands with the kabadiwalas to bring some of the waste from the dumps to some use. Yet their
laudable effort does little to clean up the waste we generate today. The waste dumps are here to
stay, and grow.

The only way to put an end to the waste dump is to put brakes on our runaway consumerism—
the unbridled culture of ‘use and throw’. We must grow out this immaturity. The only way to do
that would be to make each one of us to be responsible for managing the waste we generate. If
each of us—individuals, institutions, enterprises, and corporations—takes responsibility for the
waste one generates, then without doubt, we will be very careful about the quantum of waste we
generate, and also do a reality check on our consumption patterns. We will be forced to scale our
consumption down to pragmatic levels, so as to reduce waste. That is the need of the hour. In fact,
that is the only way forward. Any other attempt to manage waste would be a mere gimmick, and
will soon prove ineffective.

Recasting the Definition of Waste

The first step to waste management is to recast our definition of ‘waste’. Waste must no more
be seen as something that we no longer need, or have any use of, or have no value for. Instead,
before we deal with any item in the usual ‘use and throw’ manner we must ask ourselves—if
presently we have no need of it, or we have no use of it, or it has no value for us, how then can we
treat or deal with this item that it can be made useful or usable to us or others—humans, animals
or plants?

This question is at the heart of the new paradigm for waste management. As it stands, there is
nothing called material waste. However, there may be some items that are presently non-reusable
and non-recyclable, for example some toxic and nuclear wastes. Yet, it may only be a matter of
some dedicated research even to recycle such waste. Many items that were considered un-reusable
or un-recyclable until quite recently have since been transformed into reusable or recyclable
substances. For example, the PET bottles—they can now be recycled in India. This was not
possible until quite recently due to lack of technology. But for a small list of items, every other
that we treat as waste can be put to viable uses.

Therefore, for every item of waste we generate, our aim must be to find that end use, and ensure
it gets there as safely and efficiently as possible. This, by no means, is a complex operation. There
is only a need for some attitudinal change to achieve that. Of course, it may be quite effortful, and
even expensive, but it can be achieved. That is the only way we would fully bear the cost of our
consumption.

The cost of consumption must necessarily include not just the cost of items, and some operating
or processing cost thereafter, but also managing the waste of the consumption. Allegorically, it
may be like doing the dishes after a good meal—either you do it yourself, or invest in a dishwasher,
or employ a maid. The effort and expense after consumption is to ensure the waste is put to its
logical end use. We must bear that cost and effort. No longer can we live ‘cheaply’. That will only
make the world unliveable for the future generations. In this context a stark truth is—90% of the
worlds waste is generated by less than 10% of its population. Obviously, the wealthy are living off
the planet, rather cheaply—without taking full responsibility for the mess they are creating. That
is both wrong and unethical.

Classifying Waste

Before we begin to unravel the new paradigm for waste management, we also need more
classifications for waste. The fundamental classification of waste is :

• Domestic—this includes all types of waste generated by normal human existence. Of course in
today's context many more items, both toxic and non-toxic, have found their way into this category.
For example, humans today simply cannot seem to exist without emitting toxic fumes from their
automobiles, or by discharging huge quantities of dry cells in gadgets of everyday use.

• Industrial—this includes all types of waste, both toxic and non-toxic, that issue from the
industrial processes, which include material handling, production processes and related
transportation. Here, the size of the industry does not matter. Often the tendency is to keep a watch
on big industries, and turn a Nelson's Eye towards the tiny ones. Very often it is a conglomeration
of tiny industries that cause the greatest damage due to lack of control on their waste
management—examples abound—tanneries, dying units, electroplating, printed circuit board
manufacturers and so on. The list is practically endless. When it comes to waste management,
there must be no small or big—everyone ought to be treated at par.

• Agricultural—this includes all forms of agricultural waste that issue from agricultural production
and related agro-industries. In the good old days, the agricultural waste was a non-issue, because
almost every waste generated in a farm was simply ploughed back in. With the advent of the large-
scale use of rapid action chemical fertilisers, the slow acting bio-waste has few takers.
In addition to the above classification, we need other classifications as well—

• Based on containability—whether the waste is physically containable or not. Containability is a

significant parameter in the waste management process. Energy waste is hardly containable and
contributes to the ever-spiralling rise of entropy. Most forms of gaseous wastes, mostly from
mobile platforms, are practically impossible to contain. While solid and liquid wastes can be quite
easily contained.

• Based on natural degradability—whether the waste is naturally degradable or not. When we talk
about a waste substance being non-degradable, it simply refers to something that would take
inordinately long periods of time to degrade into another reusable form. There is nothing that does
not degrade naturally in time. This natural degradability includes bio-degradability, degradability
due to radioactivity, and degradability due exposure to natural UV from the Sun, and also other
naturally occurring physical and chemical processes. In the purview of waste management, it may
be necessary to find ways and means to hasten the degradability through the natural processes. For
example, biodegradability of waste can be accelerated by the addition of certain microorganisms.
The time period for natural degradability also dictates the time available to deal with the waste.
For example, a rapidly degrading biological waste must be handled rather swiftly, while those that
do not degrade quickly can be stowed away till adequate quantities have been collected and sent
for further processing, recycling.

• Based on the process cost and complexity for recycling—this is applicable only to those types
of waste that are not naturally degradable, and so require artificial processes to convert them into
usable form. The methodologies for recycling waste are based on this classification. The cost and
complexity of recycling is a key factor in the waste management scenario.

• Based on toxicity to humans, animals or even plants species—the waste products will also have
to be classed according to their toxicity to humans, animals and plants. This classification is vitally
essential to decide the methodologies of handling, transporting and containing such waste, and the
costs thereon.

Based on these classifications we can evolve multidimensional models to manage waste, and
also to cost such operations. This no doubt calls for more research into this field.

The New Paradigm

With such multidimensional form of classification of waste, we can now address waste
management process itself. At the outset, the new paradigm of waste management is intended to
make everyone—individuals, institutions, enterprises and corporations—responsible for managing
the waste each generates. That does appear to be a tall order, but certainly achievable in a three
step process :

• Account for the waste

• Deal with the waste

• Mitigate the environmental impact of waste

Account for the Waste

The first step to manage waste is to account for the waste one generates. Accountability is the
key to waste management. In very many cases, both individuals and others, including those
agencies responsible for waste management simply relocate the waste they generate, mostly on the
sly, into someone else’s backyard. Then they claim that they have no waste to dispose off, even if
it is quite plain that they must produce waste as a part of their operating processes. When
challenged, they would invariably retort—come, visit our premises and prove it.

A classic example of such an attitude of wilful lack of accountability pertains to a caustic soda
manufacturing unit situated just south of Karwar. For every ton of caustic soda they produce even
larger measure of ‘semi-solid mercury-rich sludge’ is produced as ‘waste’. In addition, they
generate substantial quantities of various other liquid wastes. In accordance with the provisions,
better still, loopholes, in the existing laws, they stow this sludge within their premises, in an open
field. As regards the liquid wastes, they fill up tanker-lorries. These tanker-lorries are then driven
off, usually at night, to desolate sections of the wooded highways, and simply let off down the hill-
slopes, where there aren’t any prying eyes. What happens to the sludge is even more interesting.
The region incidentally receives annually about 3,000 millimetres of rainfall during the season of
Southwest Monsoon. The runoff from such huge downpour simply fluidises the sludge and carries
everything to sea via the natural drainage. No one notices this sinister waste management process.
This in the bargain contaminates even the ground water, let alone the soil and surface water
sources, and the coast. With the plants, livestock and fish easily ingesting mercury from this sludge
anyone can gauge the impact on both the environment and the humans who depend on it. The
consequence is not simply a case of ‘Mina Mata’ disease or mercury poisoning, but an epidemic
of the sort. Because, over the last 30 years, with unit’s mean annual production of caustic soda
standing at 59,000 tonnes, and taking into account very modest estimates of mercury loss through
the sludge the environment ought to have already absorbed more than 300 tonnes of mercury. The
notorious scandal in Japan of ‘Mina Mata Bay’ in early 1970’s involved only 27 tonnes of mercury
discharged into the bay over a similar period. Making the industry accountable for the waste they
generate is the only way to beat this problem. In fact, every industry can be held accountable for
the waste they generate.

Every industrial or agricultural enterprise, small or big, has a well-defined process, even if it is
quite complex and multi-layered, with inputs that go into the process—raw materials and energy.
This results in specific waste product(s) that is quantifiable quite precisely. The quantum of waste
generated will be directly proportional to the production. Since production is publicly declared,
for announcing profitability, and for taxation purposes thereon, it is therefore possible to account
for the waste such a production would result in. Therefore, in the case of both industrial and
agricultural enterprises accounting for waste is quite an easy matter. Therefore every enterprise,
industrial or agricultural must scrupulously account for the waste they generate and prove to the
environmental protection agencies how they have dealt with it. Juts as in case of dealing with
Income Tax, these enterprises must also declare their waste account after necessary audit. Penalty
should be imposed on those who are negligent about the way they treat their waste
 It may not be so precise when it comes to domestic waste. However, with some door-to-door
survey, it may be possible to arrive at a working figure of the average waste generated per human,
both in urban and rural contexts.

Deal with the Waste

The second step in waste management is dealing with the waste each one generates. Dealing
with waste is simply not disposing the waste into waste dumps. There are many dimensions to it
based on above classifications. While some types of waste can be put to reuse almost straight away,
other may require some processing, and still others may require major alteration of form or
substance. As such, a waste from one source can be the input or raw material for yet another use
or production process. Now the question—who is to be made responsible for ensuring that the
waste from the point of origin reaches the end-use point? The obvious choice, from the point of
view of the responsibility factor, must rest on the one who initially produced the waste. Such an
individual or enterprise must either undertake the task of reaching the waste to the end-use point
or arrange to ensure it is done through another agency bearing the associated costs. At least, in the
case of industrial and agricultural enterprises there is absolutely no need for any further direction
on the matter, because they have the necessary expertise and wherewithal to deal with the problem.
Dealing with domestic waste is an altogether different scenario, because the individuals,
particularly in cities may not have the necessary wherewithal to deal with the issue. Here the civic
administration may have to step in to provide necessary infrastructure.

We can look at how the domestic waste from a small household in a city can be ideally dealt
with. We shall assume that this small household is in a single dwelling unit built as per byelaws
(that is with stipulated setbacks) on a standard residential plot. That leaves plenty of space around
the house even to deal with waste. Such a household generates substantial waste, almost every day,
ranging from biodegradable to toxic non-degradable, yet suitable for recycling.

In the biodegradable section, human faeces need to be piped away through the city’s sewerage
system. That part calls for necessary infrastructure. As it stands even the domestic wastewater is
also shipped out from the household through these sewerage lines. That’s hardly a sensible way to
do it. If there is a separate line for the domestic wastewater, then that water can be very easily
recycled, at the same time, the sewerage system is not overloaded. In addition, the faeces in fairly
concentrated form can easily be routed into gasification plants for generation of biogas, which can
be, at least, used for meeting the power requirement of such treatment plants. The other
biodegradable waste, such as kitchen waste, can be locally composted, subject to availability of
space. In case of large apartment blocks, even this kitchen waste can be introduced into the
gasification plants to generate biogas, and the ensuing sludge can find use as high-grade fertiliser
for the public parks, etc.

The non-biodegradable waste can easily be stored on board duly segregated into papers, plastic,
glasses, metals and so on. When it comes to plastics right down to the small toffee wrappings ought
to be stored. And when such waste products have accumulated into sufficient quantities, it would
be quite economical to send them to appropriate recycling agencies, either directly or through
scrap/waste dealers. All this requires is an attitudinal change and some patience. The effort is quite
minimal. And there are no doubt some returns while keeping waste at bay. An average household
(two adults and two studying children) generates nearly Rs. 50/- worth waste that can be readily
recycled—polythene bags, wrappers, scrap paper other than newspapers and magazines (which are
sold separately anyway), used toothbrushes, bottles, plastic containers, metal caps, tins, pen refills,
and so on. It is a fact that a ton of plastic recycled is a ton of petroleum saved.

Mitigate the environmental impact of waste

The third step to manage waste is to take measures to mitigate the environmental impact of
waste one generates. This step is necessary to tackle those categories of waste that simply cannot
be contained—mainly the energy and gaseous wastes.

The most serious case of energy waste takes place from the thermal power plants, whatever is
the source of the thermal energy—coal, petroleum, gaseous hydrocarbons or nuclear energy. The
waste energy in the form of heat—spent steam or coolant water—is released into aquatic
environments. This results in grievous impact on the aquatic flora and fauna. Here the mitigation
measures would mean taking practical steps to absorb such energy from the waters before releasing
them into the natural aquatic systems.

Mitigation of the impact of gaseous waste is more of a problem for two basic reasons—firstly,
it may hardly be possible to put mitigation measures around the source of the waste due to host of
environmental problems, and secondly, even if that was possible the real impact of such waste may
be so far away due to meteorological factors, and also where, once again mitigation measures may
not be possible or even ineffective. These issues can be made clear with an example.

One of the classic cases of the environmental impact of the uncontainable gaseous waste was
the depletion of ozone layer due to the release of chlorofluorocarbons or CFC. There was hardly a
mitigation measure that could be put in place to handle this problem but to stop using CFC.
However, with nearly a decade of cessation in the use of CFC, both in refrigerating and aerosol
industries, the current evidence suggests there is a resurgence of the depleted ozone layer.

There is still no easy solution for the impact of accidental release of highly toxic gases that need
not be a waste in the real sense of the word. But after release into the environment that simply
becomes a waste, with no mitigation possible for the catastrophic impact that could follow. Bhopal
gas tragedy is a classic case. The only possible mitigation is to put in place such fail-safe measures
to prevent any sort of leaks and would require in addition to technology an eternal state of
vigilance.

The biggest problem related to mitigation comes from the burning fossil fuels and other
hydrocarbons, both for power generations and in automobiles. Carbon dioxide is the principal
ingredient of such an uncontainable gaseous waste. As a result of the rapid increase of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere the world has begun to experience the much maligned green house effect
and the host of environmental problems that comes with it. The only way to contain the carbon
dioxide is by creating carbon sinks—simply planting trees that will trap carbon from carbon
dioxide and release oxygen back into the atmosphere. Therefore, for every unit, power plant or
automobile, depending on the carbon dioxide it generates, the owner(s) must balance out the
environmental impact by creating carbon sinks, that is, by planting trees—yet not just planting
trees but ensuring their growth to self-sustainability. The annual environmental tax of each unit
must be able to defray the cost of creating/maintaining the compensating carbon sink.

There is little doubt that such a tax will be a very stiff one, particularly for the individual
automobile owners. The best way forward then would be to get rid of private cars and go for mass
transportation systems. As it stands the average car occupancy on road in India is only 1.2. That’s
a colossal waste. With the environmental tax towards mitigation of effects of gaseous waste even
the energy cost would go up considerably. So, we have to learn to be extremely careful about the
use or rather waste of energy, particularly electricity. There is just no other way to beat the problem
of uncontainable waste. However, one thing is for sure, that would slow down the nearly cancerous
growth of economies solely piggybacking on unbridled consumption. The consumption patterns
are what the modern economists are looking. They even call it consumer confidence. When the
consumers visit supermarkets less frequently, the economists go into a tizzy—stock prices fall,
until they are once again lured back with seductive advertisements and titillating incentives. So
long as the consumers behave like dumb, programmable Pavlov’s dogs, the causality will be the
environment.

Conclusion

The whole idea of eco-friendly technologies means little in the march towards environmental
protection—waste will continue to be generated anyway, unless we can seriously regulate our
consumption as individuals and societies. We must get clear about the whole idea about sustainable
growth. The markets still behave as if afflicted by multi-organ carcinoma, which is steadily
spreading into the entire environment. To put it quite idiomatically they continue to make hay
when the sun shines—but how long can that go on? Such an attitude is hardly ‘sustainable growth’.

The current generation may escape the adverse consequences, but what about the next? Instead
of pristine forests and wildlife, they will only get to see huge garbage dumps. Instead of fragrance
of flowers, they will get to smell only the stench of decaying garbage and acrid fumes from
automobile exhausts and industrial chimneys. Instead of watching birds flying about in
magnificent hues and shapes, they will get to watch only torn polythene bags flying about in harsh
unruly winds, charged by the heat of ‘global warming’. And instead of listening pleasant sounds
of nature, such as cooing of birds, sounds of twittering insects, gentle whooshing of morning
breeze, they will hear only cacophonic noises of machinery and blaring horns of irate drivers. Is
that our attitude towards the nature’s stewardship that we are entrusted with for the sake of the
future generations?

The solution lies only in making everyone responsible for the waste one generates—everything
will then change. Each individual or institution must adopt the new paradigm for waste
management—account, dispose and mitigate—or simply pay for this process fully, with no
subsidy support allowed. That would be the greatest service we can do for the future generations.
That is the only way we can say ‘we love you’ to our grand children or even great grand children
whom we will never get to meet. It is not a doomsday scenario as yet. There is still hope, but for
that we must begin now. There isn’t much time left to continue with the current ambivalence, dilly-
dallying with cosmetic and half measures towards environmental protection.
Bio Data:

Commander John Jacob Puthur is a retired naval officer—alumnus of National Defence

Academy. He is a hydrographic surveyor, with surveying experience along the entire Indian coasts,
and also at Antarctica. He is a graded ‘Charge Hydrographer’, authorised to certify all types of
hydrographic surveys. Presently, he consults in hydrography, coastal erosion, dredging, and on
port design matters. He is also active in outbound adventure training. He is a Fellow of Indian
Geological Society, Indian Institution of Surveyors and Indian Cartographic Association, in
addition to being active member of several prestigious societies/associations. He is a resident of
Bangalore.
 MANAGING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE: SPECIAL FOCUS ON BIO-MEDICAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT – A CASE STUDY

Sanjay Joshi
Vidyadhar Walawalkar
Teacher in Biology at B.N.
Sr. Lecturer in Chemistry, V.P.M.'s
Bandodkar College of Science,
Polytechnic College, Thane.
Thane. Secretary, Enviro-Vigil,
General Secretary, Enviro-vigil.
Thane.
Vikas Hajirnis Prasad Date and Ravindra Kadam

Medical Practitioner, Thane. Directors, Enviro-Vigil's Treatwaste

President, Enviro-Vigil. Division

Abstract

Garbage mounds rotting in street corners, sewage drains overflowing and sometimes choking
with plastic carry bags certainly trigger an overall unhygienic lifestyle for a city’s inhabitants
resulting in the spread of deadly diseases. These conditions also indicate the fact that the city is
growing. The gravity of the problem is increasing rapidly in all the Indian cities in general and in
the metropolitan cities in particular. The main reason is massive migration of population from rural
to urban regions. According to a UN report of 1995, India would have more than 400 million
people i.e. almost 40 per cent of its population clustered in the cities within the next thirty years.
On this background, urban India is on the brink of a massive waste disposal crisis. Even though
stringent rules and regulations have been made by the government (MSW Management Rule,
2000, implemented in January, 2004) these are barely enough even to maintain a linear system of
collection and disposal creating health and environmental hazards. The most important aspect of
MSW management is community participation. Generators of the MSW are the common people
who need to be made aware of health hazards generated due to mismanagement of MSW.

Enviro-Vigil, an environmental NGO from Thane city in Maharashtra is working in this area
for the past few years. We, at Enviro-Vigil have been organising campaigns on a large scale to
seek community participation with practical input. Apart from general MSW management, bio-
medical waste management has been our major activity for the past four years. Bio-medical waste
encompasses a wide variety of waste products generated as a result of human activities in the
hospitals, pathology labs, animal houses in pharmaceutical and other related industries, abattoirs
or slaughter houses, diagnostic centres and even at the household level. However, this kind of
waste is being mistreated and mismanaged causing serious health hazards not only to the
healthcare personnel, but also to the community. Management of BMW has now attracted wide
attention of social activists, environmentalists, health policy makers, medical professionals and
administrators. In managing bio-medical waste, community participation plays a significant role.
People from medical fraternity such as healthcare workers, sweepers, ward boys, nurses and even
the doctors are always at high risk due to continuous exposure to disease causing microorganisms.
The deadly viruses like Hepatitis-B, HIV, etc. and a variety of other dreadful viruses and bacteria
always seem to hover around these people. This certainly has long-term effects on the society in
general. It is the need of the hour to create awareness among these people to handle and manage
the BMW with utmost care. For this, Enviro-Vigil has been imparting on site training to these
healthcare professionals.

At the government level, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Govt. of India along
with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have formulated and published rules entitled Bio-
Medical Waste (Handling and management) Rules, 1998. Enviro-Vigil has set up a ‘Common Bio-
Medical Waste Treatment Facility’ for treatment and safe disposal of BMW. Here we present our
experience in seeking community participation in the field of Solid Waste Management, with
special emphasis on bio-medical waste management and working of our common BMW treatment
facility.

Introduction

“Garbage Garbage Everywhere, Not A Street To Walk!” This punch line perfectly describes
the present scenario in the Indian cities. Ever-increasing population due to mass migration from
rural to urban areas, changing lifestyles, extensive use of disposable articles in day to day life, lack
of awareness, lack of infrastructural facilities for proper treatment and disposal of garbage etc. are
some of the major problems the Indian cities are facing. Accumulation of garbage and littered
public places are a few manifestations of indifferent attitude and lack of sensitivity of the people
in general and the municipal bodies in particular, towards environmental issues. The quantity of
the waste being generated in the cities poses serious threat to the quality of environment and also
to the human health. The municipal corporations allot huge amount of funds for solid waste
disposal and management. However, there are no serious efforts taken by the concerned people
right from the top ranking officials to the workers in the lowermost cadre. Solid waste management
is still considered as an inferior service and is generally overlooked by the municipal bodies. Added
to this, is the lack of awareness and of active participation of the general public in the management
of solid waste. Civic bodies are finding it more and more difficult to locate suitable dumping
grounds, which are hardly available these days. Apart from municipal bodies or civic authorities,
common man is also equally responsible for letting the problem become more and more serious
day by day. As per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, municipal
bodies will be responsible for providing necessary infrastructure and manpower for segregation,
transportation, storage, processing and disposal of municipal solid waste. However, NIMBY (Not
In My Backyard) attitude of common man has made the task of the municipal bodies more difficult
with respect to waste storage. Several studies conducted by environmental and technical
institutions like NEERI indicate that over 100,000 metric tonnes of garbage are generated in the
Indian cities per day. Only about 50%-80% of this waste gets collected for disposal on the dumping
grounds. The remaining waste is left on the streets which eventually enters the drains, gutters, etc.
These studies have also indicated that municipal solid waste is likely to reach 125,000 MT per day
by the year 2030 considering the changing urban consumption pattern and increase in per capita
income. Such studies have also linked per capita garbage generation with per capita income. For
example, Srishti, a Delhi based NGO and TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute) have conducted
a survey, according to which, people with lower income bracket earning Rs. 2000/- per month
generated about 200 gm waste per day, while people in the higher income bracket with an average
monthly income of Rs.8000/- generated about 700 gm of waste per day. Considering such amount
of garbage generated by the citizens, and projected scenario of the future, it is certainly not possible
for municipal bodies to handle this problem alone. Public participation is equally essential.
Without public initiative, problems of solid waste management will worsen day by day. Seeking
public participation is tedious, time consuming and many a times a thankless job. Nevertheless, it
is very essential. By increasing people’s participation, the costs of waste management can be
greatly reduced. Public participation is also necessary to bring about changes in waste management
with respect to segregation at source, recovery of reusable and recyclable articles form the
household waste, and proper storage prior to collection. There are several NGOs working hard in
the Indian cities to seek community participation in the activities related to solid waste
management. Due to sincere efforts being taken by these NGOs, common man is slowly
awakening and is shedding his indifferent attitude towards solid waste issues at least at personal
level. The results are encouraging. People have started believing that their participation in solid
waste management programmes has become a compelling necessity. Enviro-Vigil is one such
NGO working in Thane, Maharashtra for the past eight years. In order to obtain people’s
participation in the area of solid waste management and other environmental issues, this NGO has
initiated several environmental projects involving people in general and the school and college
students in particular. Our initial step was to motivate the college students for door-to-door
campaign for convincing people to understand the importance of segregation of waste at the source
of its generation. We organised a workshop of the college students to motivate them and to provide
a proper training to them for this campaign. More than 300 students from NCC, NSS and others
participated in this campaign. They eventually visited nearly 30,000 households to explain the
methodology of domestic waste management. This campaign was a grand success and people
started taking initiative to manage their own waste. However, their enthusiasm disappeared
gradually, although there are a handful of the residential societies in Thane where people are still
segregating their waste and managing it on their own. As already mentioned earlier, the main
problem is ever increasing population. It is difficult for anyone, be it the civic authorities or the
NGOs or the government organisation, to handle this aspect of environmental management.

While dealing with solid waste management, we decided to handle the issue of bio-medical or
the hospital waste management, even before the rules came into existence. With our earlier
experience of community participation, we first decided to seek participation of the community of
healthcare workers and the professionals such as doctors, nurses, etc. We visited several
government, semi-government and private hospitals to study the practices of waste management
there and to encourage the concerned people to participate in the waste management programme.
The response was rather discouraging. People simply did not bother about such issues. Fortunately
for us and for the environment, first, the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules,
1998 and then civic authorities at Thane Municipal Corporation came to our rescue. With a strong
support form the Thane Municipal Corporation, we decided to go ahead with providing a common
facility to take care of hospital waste. Here we present an overview of the bio-medical waste,
segregation at source, treatment and safe disposal of the waste, etc. This paper also highlights the
functioning of common BMW treatment facility of Enviro-Vigil.

WHAT IS BIO-MEDICAL WASTE?

 Bio-Medical waste is an extremely hazardous type of waste and if not managed properly, it can
lead to serious health and environment problems. “Bio-medical waste is any type of waste
generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of human beings or animals or in
research activities pertaining to the production of drugs in pharmaceutical companies, animal
waste generated in the veterinary hospitals and also in the slaughter houses, etc.”--- Bio-Medical
Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998. Although not included in the standard definition,
bio-medical waste is also generated at the domestic level in the form of sanitary pads, diapers,
cotton swabs and gauges, disposable razors, etc. In many cases, the patient is given treatment in
his or her own house when the hospitalisation is not possible due to some or the other reason. Such
“domestic BMW” has not been given any consideration so far. Although, BMW includes the waste
produced by the living organisms because of human activities, more attention and emphasis is
being given on the management of the BMW generated in the healthcare centres or hospitals. This
hospital waste will be discussed at length in this article.

Sources of Generation of Hospital Waste:

Hospital is a place, where an individual is examined by the doctors, diagnosis is made and an
appropriate treatment plan is worked out. Depending upon the extent or the intensity of illness, the
patients are either treated in out patient department (OPD) or are admitted in the hospital for
treatment and follow up. In both the cases, greater amount of waste is generated during this
procedure. The quantum of waste thus generated varies according to the site and the nature of
treatment. For example, in the minor operation theatres (OT), the amount of waste would be less
than that of the major OT. Similarly, the amount of infectious waste is more in the maternity
hospitals than in a general hospital. In orthopedic specialties, this amount is much less. Thus, the
amount of waste will vary depending upon the nature of treatment. At individual ward level also,
waste is generated. However, this is generally non-infectious, domestic type. Apart from the
hospitals, BMW is also generated in the clinics and dispensaries belonging to the general
practitioners and the dentists.

Hospital waste is different from domestic waste and must be segregated, collected and disposed
off using scientific technology. If segregation is not done properly at source, it can get mixed with
municipal solid waste resulting in possible exposure of the entire community to the
microorganisms, which are responsible for highly infectious and dreadful diseases like HIV,
hepatitis A, B and C, tuberculosis, and other skin and respiratory ailments. In many hospitals,
unscientific technologies, like burning of the waste are used for disposal of the hospital waste. This
can lead to dangerous levels of emission of gases like dioxins and furans in the environment, which
contain cancer causing agents. Residual ash, if not disposed off in secured landfills, can also pollute
the underground water and contaminate the soil. The waste generated in the hospitals in particular
can be categorised as follows:

General Waste: This makes about 80-85% of the total waste generated in a hospital. This is non-
infectious and can be easily managed if it is segregated at source properly. General waste includes
items like paper, cardboard boxes, plastic packaging, metal boxes, etc. which is non biodegradable
Another category of general waste includes kitchen waste which consists of left over food,
vegetable and fruit peels, meat, fish, tea bags or used tea powder, coconut shells, flowers or
bouquets brought in by patient's visitors, etc. which is biodegradable.

Infectious Waste: This accounts for only a small fraction comprising about 10-15% of the total
volume of waste generated in a hospital. However, this small fraction is of the biggest concern as
it poses direct threat to the health and hygiene of the human beings by transmitting viral, bacterial
fungal or parasitic diseases. This type of waste includes:

a) Pathological Waste: Human anatomical wastes, like organs, body parts, tumours, glands, etc.
that are removed during surgery or biopsy or any other medical procedure, amputated parts and
also tissues, placentas, aborted foetuses, blood and other body fluids, etc., animal carcasses and
tissues from laboratories, dressings, cotton swabs soaked in blood/body fluids, hospital gowns,
aprons and other similar materials which have been in contact with a patient's body,

b) Infectious Plastic: Disposable items like syringes, IV sets, blood bags, catheters, gloves,
endotracheal tubes, canulas, dialysis sets, etc.

c) Sharps: These are the most dangerous contents of the hospital waste especially for the healthcare
staff handling these. Sharps include broken glass articles or metal articles such as needles, blades,
scalpels, saws, nails, etc.

Non-Infectious, but Hazardous Waste: This type of waste does not contain any infectious, i.e.
disease causing component and comprise about 5-10% of the total volume of waste generated in a
hospital. However, it can cause serious health hazards like burns, corrosions, genotoxicity,
chromosomal aberrations, toxicity, carcinogenic effects, etc. These include:

a) Chemical Waste: Chemicals like disinfectants, fumigants, other solid, liquid or gaseous
substances, etc. These can be hazardous, if these possess corrosive, inflammable or reactive
genotoxic properties, or these can be non-hazardous, if these do not possess these properties. These
include inorganic salts, buffer chemicals, sugars, amino acids, etc.

b) Radioactive Waste: Solids, liquids and gases from in vitro analysis of tissues and body fluids,
X-rays, chemical dyes and isotopes of various radioactive elements frequently used in diagnosis
and /or treatment of diseases, etc.

c) Cytotoxic Waste: This type of waste is generated form diagnosis and treatment of diseases like
cancer. This type of waste can be found in small quantities in human excreta, I.V. solutions and
containers from laboratories.

d) Waste with multiple categories: At times, the waste generated in hospitals falls into more than
one category like radioactive sharps, plastic I.V. tubes contaminated with cytotoxic drugs, etc.

BIO-MEDICAL WASTE: How to Manage?

It is essential to manage the hospital waste in a proper way. The following hints may be useful:
# Use a ‘mantra' of three R's, i.e., Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

# Segregate at source for safe and proper disposal.

Segregation of waste at source for safe and proper disposal :Basic and the most important step in
managing the hospital waste.

General Waste and Infectious as well as hazardous waste generated from different activities of
the hospital should be properly separated. Even if a small amount of infectious waste gets mixed
with general waste, it can contaminate the entire waste collected. Segregation at source means
separation of the waste materials from each other at the place of its generation. For example, the
quantity of the infectious waste generated in OTs, ICUs is proportionately greater than the non-
infectious waste. If the waste is segregated there itself, then the risk of infection can be greatly
reduced.

Segregation in a hospital results in:

* Waste minimisation

* Effective waste management

* Decrease in expenses incurred in managing waste

* Reduce the risk of infection ensuring better healthcare

* Prevent infection to communities living in the vicinity of the hospital that may be exposed to the
infectious hospital waste.

Segregation should be done as per specific treatment and disposal requirements. Segregated
waste must be stored in coloured containers as per the colour coding system prescribed by the
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, under Bio-Medical Waste (Management and
Handling), 1998 rules

The ideal system would be to use different coloured garbage bags or liners in waste storage bins.
There are four major colour codes as per the notification:

Black Bag: Used for collecting general waste i.e., paper, non-infectious plastics, cardboard boxes,
and other dry waste generated in hospital office or in the wards. For kitchen waste, a separate,
preferably a green coloured container is highly recommended.

What is the current practice and why it is harmful?

The current practice is to collect and throw the entire waste in common municipal refuse collector.
This ultimately results in the creation of large volume of garbage ultimately causing overburdening
of the landfills.
Where should this waste go?

However, when segregated in this way, the ‘dry', non-infectious waste can be reused after recycling
it at a recycling facility. The ‘wet', non-infectious and bio-degradable waste from the hospital
kitchens can be used for making good quality compost within the hospital premises only and can
be effectively used for a healthy garden of the hospitals.

Red Bag: To be used for segregated plastics collected from OTs, ICUs and from the wards. You
have to be very careful and strict about proper segregation of this waste component.

What is the current practice and why it is harmful?

The current practice is to mix this waste with general waste after improper disinfection or even in
some places, disinfection is not carried at all. This thus enters a common municipal refuse
collection bins. The rag pickers segregate these and sell these for a small price. These plastics are
then repackaged imitating the original and resold thus causing serious health problems to the
concerned people.

Where should this waste go?

This waste should be disinfected by applying an authorised, scientific methodology. The best way
to disinfect is to autoclave this waste. After autoclaving, all the plastic should be shredded or
mutilated to avoid unauthorised use. Such plastic can be then recycled and reused for good cause
for the community.

Yellow Bag: Used for highly infectious items like pathological waste, human anatomical waste
such as body parts, amputated parts/ organs, tumours, placentas, aborted or otherwise abnormal or
dead foetuses, etc. In addition to this, it also includes blood soaked cotton bandages, animal tissues,
organs, carcasses and other wastes.

What is the current practice and why it is harmful?

The current practice is to mix this waste with general waste and thus throw this in a common
municipal garbage collection. The hazards of such mixing are already discussed earlier. In many
hospitals, most of the human anatomical wastes are buried in the soil. However, this practice is
dangerous and causes serious social and environmental problems.

Where should this waste go?

As per the Central Pollution Control Board regulation, deep burial of this type of waste is not
acceptable for towns or cities above a population of 5 lakhs.

The best solution that is available these days is to incinerate this type of waste. In this technology,
the contents of the yellow bag are burned in an incinerator at extremely high temperature (800 0
C-1100 0 C). The contents of the yellow bag are thus turned completely into residual ash, which
can be safely buried in the soil. The alternative technologies that are available include use of
microwaves, hydroclaves, plasma pyrolysis, etc.

Blue or White, Opaque Bag: This bag is used for collecting the segregated metal and /or glass
sharps such as needles, blades, saws, scalpels and all such similar type of waste.

These bags must be puncture proof as the sharp metal or broken glass wastes are to be collected in
these.
It is, however strongly recommend to the hospital staff that even metal sharps and broken glass
articles are to be segregated. Ideally, a metal box should be used for collecting the metal sharps
and glass sharps should be collected in blue/ white bags.

Lead Containers: These are to be used, if necessary, for radioactive wastes which are to be
disposed as per the guidelines provided by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.
Radioactive wastes, especially cobalt needles used for Brachy treatment must be returned to
BARC. Cytotoxic waste can be stored in sturdy cardboard boxes, which can be incinerated later.

Disinfection : It is a process of destruction or removal of pathogen which gives rise of infection.

Hospital Medical Waste in category of “Infectious Waste” should be disinfected before final
disposal as it contains pathological microorganisms responsible for diseases.

Disinfection should be used even if sterilisation facilities are available. Infectious waste should
be disinfected before it is disposed off. Instruments and equipments that come in contact with
contaminated floor, surfaces like trolley tops, table tops, clothes, bedding, beds, utensils and other
articles like bed pan etc. should be regularly disinfected.

Disinfectant :

Any chemical substance used for disinfection.

Methods of Disinfection:

# Thermal

# Chemical (Formaldehyde, Ethylene Oxide, etc.)

# Irradiation and ultraviolet

# Microwave

# Filtration

Managing Chemical waste:

a) Chemotherapy and antineoplastc chemicals :

• Reducing the volume to be used.
• Optimising the size of the drug container while purchasing
• Returning the outdated drugs to the manufacturer
• Centralising chemotherapy compounding location
• Providing spill clean ups
• Segregating the wastes.

b) Formaldehyde:

• Minimise the strength of formaldehyde solutions.

• Minimise the waste from cleaning dialysis machines and RO units.
• Use reverse osmosis water treatment to reduce dialysis-cleaning demand.
• Capture waste formaldehyde
• Investigate the possibility of reuse in pathology, autopsy labs, etc.

c) Photographic chemicals:

• Return of spec developer to the manufacturer.

• Cover developer and fixes cans to reduce evaporation.
• Recover silver efficiency.
• Recycle waste film and paper.
• Segregate and label properly the radioactive wastes and store short-lived wastes in isolation
until decay permits disposal in trash.
• Substitute less hazardous cleaning agents, methods for solvent cleaners, etc.

d) Solvents:

• Reduce the volume requirement.

• Use premixed kits for tests involving solvent fixation.
• Use calibrated solvent dispensers for routine tests.
• Segregate solvent wastes.
• Recover used solvents through distillation.

e) Mercury:

• Substitute electronic sensing devices for mercury containing devices.

• Make provisions for mercury spill cleanup kits and proper training to the concerned personnel.
• Recycle uncontaminated mercury waste using proper safety controls.

f) Waste Anesthetic gases:

• Purchase low leakage equipments and maintain these properly,

g) Toxic corrosives and Miscellaneous chemicals:

• Inspect and maintain ethylene oxide sterilisers.
• Use less toxic compounds, cleaning agents, etc.
• Return the containers for reuse and make use of recyclable containers.
• Neutralize the acidic waste by mixing with basic wastes.
• Avoid spills; make use of mechanical handling aids.
• Use automated system for laundry equipments.
• As far as possible, use physical cleaning methods.

Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (CBMWTDF) run by Enviro-Vigil,
a Thane based NGO: An Ideal project, set by NGO.

Enviro-Vigil is a NGO working hard to tackle various environmental issues in and around
Thane city, for the past six years. As a NGO, it has set up a common facility for collection,
transportation, treatment and disposal of BMW generated in the healthcare facilities since past
three and a half years. This facility has been set up for Thane Municipal Corporation. All the
private and government hospitals in the jurisdiction of TMC have joined this facility. In addition,
private and govt. hospitals from Vasai, Nalasopara, Bhayander, Mira Road, Virar, etc. have joined
this facility. Waste is also collected from the pathology labs, diagnostic centres, etc. Enviro-vigil
provides on site training to the hospital staff, in which the details regarding handling and
management of BMW are explained. The nurses and class four employees are made aware about
the colour coding system and significance of segregation at source. About 500 to 600 kg waste is
received per day at the facility, out of which, almost 400 kg is “incinerable” waste. The plastic
waste is disinfected by autoclaving, shredded and sent for recycling. The volume of metal sharps
and disposable glass articles is comparatively less. These are also disinfected at the facility, and
then sent out for recycling. The residual ash is disposed of as per the norms provided in the rules.

Enviro-vigil has a pyrolytic incinerator with a burning capacity of 50 kg of incinerable waste

per hour. It is manufactured by Thermax (India) Pvt. ltd., Pune, Mharashtra. It is a dual chambered
incinerator with Venturi scrubber. Enviro-Vigil has also set up an effluent treatment plant (ETP)
as per the requirement. It has obtained all the necessary authorisations and permits from MPCB.
Transportation is carried out in its own vehicles, which have been designed as per the specifications
provided by the MPCB and are totally dedicated for this cause only. Enviro-Vigil has its own staff
that are committed and dedicated to run this facility for a social cause. This facility is located in
the campus of Thane Municipal Corporation’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CHM
Hospital) and Rajeev Gandhi Medical College, at Thane-Belapur road, Kalwa, Thane. As this
facility is being run by a NGO, it is receiving good response and appreciation from various sectors
of the society. Barring a few shortfalls, even the authorities at higher levels in CPCB and MPCB
have identified this facility as a role model, which is unique of its kind. A mass campaign has been
initiated by Enviro-Vigil now to involve general practitioners, dentists, etc. to join this facility. It
has also started collecting waste from the research laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, etc. A
campaign is being worked out to involve the common people for managing their domestic BMW.
So far no emphasis is being given on the issue of BMW generated at the slaughterhouses. However,
in near future, Enviro-Vigil plans to consider managing the animal waste form the slaughter houses
also
 The NGO is aiming towards ‘Zero Bio-Medical Waste’ in the city. As a proud moment for us
at Enviro-Vigil, this bio-medical waste treatment facility has been awarded ISO 9001-2000
Certificate from DNV of Netherlands in December, 2005. Following are the highlights of this
facility. All the employees mentioned above are coming from lower middle class of the society.
Some of these have been the rag pickers. The work they are doing is very good in large perspective.
But, while working such type of work, they have to take care of themselves e.g. cleanliness,
wearing PPEs (personal protective equipments), etc. We have provided all the necessary facilities
to these workers to maintain health and hygiene. They have been provided the necessary
vaccination and they have to undergo routine medical check up once in three months under normal
conditions. These workers have also been covered under Medi-Claim Insurance policy.

No. Of Employees No. Of Vehicles Approx. Waste Collection per day (in Kg)
Transport 11 Thane City 03 Incinerable 400
Shop floor 07 Western Sub. 02 Recyclable plastic 150
Office 12 Recyclable glass, metal sharps etc. 50
Total 30 Total 05 Total 600

The number of health care units that are attached to our facility is as follows:

Area ? Thane Meera Bhayander Vasai Nallsopara Virar

Type of HCU ?
Hospitals 219 081 045 028 028
Laboratories 065 026 018 013 012
Blood Banks 003 - - - -
Dentists 001 001 007 001 002
General Practitioners 091 049 013 070 045
Eye clinics 011 - - - 002
ENT clinics 005 - 001 - 001
Companies 018 - - - -

CONCLUSION:

Management of household waste and hospital waste are of extreme importance.

 Address:

Sanjay Joshi Vidyadhar Walawalkar

Teacher in Biology at B.N. Bandodkar Sr. Lecturer in Chemistry, V.P.M.'s Polytechnic

College of Science, College, Thane.
Thane. Secretary, Enviro-Vigil, Thane. General Secretary, Enviro-vigil.
Vikas Hajirnis
Prasad Date and Ravindra Kadam
Medical Practitioner, Thane.
Directors, Enviro-Vigil's Treatwaste Division
President, Enviro-Vigil.

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