Solid waste management is an essential issue throughout the world. Waste is generated by domestic, industrial, agricultural,  commercial and healthcare activities which amass and conceive much of the environment concerns. The waste generated is outstripping the absorptive capacity of the environment, and thus, it is imperative that this issue is looked upon. Solid waste can be catalogued into non-hazardous and hazardous waste. While Municipal authorities are in charge of waste management through the use of several Integrated Waste Management strategies in India, there are several techniques individuals can take to do small-scale waste management. 

The urban India engenders about 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste of which 70% is collected and 20% is treated while the rest 50% is dumped at landfills. Let us have a look at certain Integrated Waste Management strategies through which India is embarking upon the issue of Solid waste management.

    1.    LANDFILLS- There are municipal sanitary landfills where waste is dumped. For this a site is selected carefully prescribed as per the law. The waste material is spread out and compacted using heavy machineries. Landfills in India pose numerous hazardous threats one of them being the release of methane gas in the atmosphere due to their unscientific design and indiscriminately large amount of disposal of waste. Taking inspiration from countries like Norway, Sweden and Ethiopia, India has started its work towards scientific landfills, that eliminate the risk of waste seeping into the ground and reducing methane gas production. Narela-Bawana is the first scientific landfill in India. [1]

    2.    INCINERATION- Process of burning solid waste in a properly designed furnace under suitable temperature and operating conditions is called incineration. It is the waste treatment technology which involves combustion of waste with the by-product of energy at waste-to-energy plants. However, these waste-to-energy plants haven't brought a fruitful result in the spectrum of India's solid waste management. Several of these plants are dysfunctional now due to its high cost of pollution control, difficulty in controlling emissions of dioxins due to incineration and absence of technology to dispose bottom ash. Due to lack of waste segregation in India, the waste tends to have low calorific value and thus it poses a problem for incineration due to high moisture content. Thus incineration in India hasn't been able to achieve its desired results. [2]

    3.    COMPOSTING- Composting is a method of producing compost manure by adopting this natural phenomenon, which can be done aerobically or anaerobically. Compost is particularly useful as an organic manure which contains Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium as well as micro nutrients. Vermi-composting is  a method where organic manure is produced by microorganism as cocoons, earthworms, humus, etc. Composting is a convenient way for households to take part in the organic waste management through this process. Composting has emerged as an economical and environmentally sound alternative for India. Villages in India using composting as a waste management process instead of landfill their wastes save money from buying fertilizer and additionally earning money by selling surplus compost. Service providers such as 'Ecobins' in India are also aiming at providing services to the Indian household to engage in composting. 

Apart from this, several institutions in India are taking their own individual initiatives to take up the case of solid waste management in their hands. This is not only engaging the youth of India into the process but is also ensuring solid waste management at grassroot levels of the country. For instance, at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, a Sanitary and Support Services (SSS) unit has employed 550 workers for sorting, collection and transportation of solid waste generated across its campus. The unit effectively managed around 60 metric tonnes of solid waste. Another initiative of several projects such as using plastic waste to builds bricks, Internet of Things (IoT) Based Dumpsite restoration, Compressed Earth Block Technology for rural houses and Fertigation projects taken up by Amrita's Live-in-labs headquartered at Tamil Nadu are coming up, that are exploring environmentally sustainable solutions for rural waste management. 

As consistent efforts to manage solid waste are continually coming up in India, a lack of technological and financial development is weighing to the hindrance of these efforts. India is in dire need to eradicate the piling waste on its streets. Environmental awareness and preservation is the need of the hour for India, to ensure sustainable development of its communities. 

SOURCES:

[1] https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/disposing-waste-scientifically-how-scientific-landfills-can-change-the-waste-disposal-scenario-in-india-8159/

[2] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/can-incinerators-help-manage-indias-growing-wa