Chapter 1

Introduction to Municipal Solid

Wastes

What are Solid Wastes?

All the wastes arising from human & animal activities
that are normally solid.
Are discarded as useless or unwanted.
are the heterogeneous mass of throwaways from
residences and commercial activities as well as more
homogeneous accumulations of a single industrial
activity.
It could be semi-solid, semi-liquid, liquid or gaseous
forms also.
Called as refuse, rubbish, garbage, and trash etc.

SOLID WASTES
Municipal Solid Waste

Industrial Solid Waste

Hazardous Solid Waste

Food wastes

Rubbish

Radioactive

Rubbish

Ashes

Chemical

Ashes and residues

Demolition & construction

Corrosive
Reactive
Toxic

Demolition & construction

wastes
wastes

Biological
From Hospitals

Special waste
Flammable

Special wastes

Hazardous Waste
Explosive

(street sweeping, roadside litter, catch basindebris, dead animals,

Various Types of Solid Wastes

Food wastes (garbage)
Rubbish
Ashes and residues
Bulky household wastes

SW

Street wastes
(refuse)
Dead animals
Construction and demolition wastes
Industrial wastes
Hazardous wastes including hospital and
slaughter house wastes
Sewage wastes
Garden (horticulture) wastes

Components of SW

Organic
Food wastes, paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, rubber, leather, yard
wastes, wood, dead animals etc.

Inorganic
Glass bottles, tin cans, aluminum, other metals, dirt, ash, debris or
construction rejects etc.

Hazardous wastes
Household: Household cleaners, personal care products, automotive
products, paint products, batteries, photographic chemicals, pesticides,
herbicides, fertilizers etc.
Commercial: (Depends on the type of establishment) for e.g. Inks from
print shops, solvents from dry cleaning establishments, cleaning solvents
from auto repair shops, paints and thinners from painting contractors etc.

Why do we need to properly manage SW?

It can
cause bad odors
lead to proliferation of pests, rodents and wind-blown litter
make us sick
spread epidemics through cockroaches, mice, stray animals etc.
attract birds and hence, cause bird menace to air flights
cause fires
can release green house gases
cause contamination of surrounding soil
lead to groundwater pollution due to waste dumps
cause surface water contamination by the run-off from the waste dump
make city landscape unattractive

How Waste is Generated

Everyone produces about half kg of garbage
everyday
The activities that produce garbage are:
Preparation, cooking and serving food
Sweeping of house
Discarding waste papers, packaging, metal cans, glass and
plastic bottles etc
Discarding broken articles, furniture etc.
Cleaning of lawn and gardens
Construction and demolition activities
Markets, commercial sources, community halls, hotels, water
and wastewater treatment plants also generate these wastes
as a part of community

Solid Waste
Generation

Solid Waste Generation by Technological

Processes

Solid Waste
Generation in an
Urban Society

Role of Solid
Waste
Management

(a) Waste Generation

without Integrated
Management

(b) Waste
Minimizations by
Integrated
Management

A Multi-Material,
Multi-Source,
Integrated Solid
Waste
Management
Approach

Elements of A
Municipal Solid
Waste Management
System

Hierarchy of Integrated Solid Waste Management Op

Waste
Reduction by
Integrated
Solid Waste
Management

Components of A Municipal Solid Waste

Management System

Detailed
Structure of A
Municipal
Solid Waste
Management
System

Linkages Between MSW Management System and Ot

Types of Wastes Generated in an Urban Centre

Interaction
Between
Municipal
Solid Waste
Management
System and
Other Waste
Management
Systems

Materials Flow Chart for 100 TPD Waste

(i) Materials Flow Chart showing Direct

Landfilling

(ii) Conceptual
Materials
Flow Chart showing
(a) Reduced
Landfilling
(b) Material Recovery
(c) Compost Recovery
(d) Energy Recovery

MSW WORLD SCENARIO

MSW generation rates are affected socio-economic
development, degree of industrialization, and climate

High Income Countries

Current
Total waste = 85 million tonnes/year

Others
11%

Others
12%
Metal
8%

Year 2025
Total waste = 86 million tonnes/year

Organic
28%

Glass
7%

Metal
5%

Organic
33%

Glass
7%
Plastic
10%

Plastic
9%
Paper
36%

Paper
34%

Middle Income Countries

Current
Total waste = 34 million tonnes/year

Others
Metal
11%
3%
Glass
2%
Plastic
11%
Paper
15%

Year 2025
Total waste = 111 million tonnes/year
Others
13%
Metal
5%
Glass
3%

Organic
58%

Organic
50%

Plastic
9%

Paper
20%

Low Income Countries

Current
Total waste = 158 million tonnes/year

Year 2025
Total waste = 480 million tonnes/year
Others
12%

Metal
4%
Organic
Glass
41%
3%

Others
47%

Plastic
6%
Metal
1%
Glass
2%

Paper
5%
Plastic
4%

Paper
15%

Organic
60%

MSW INDIAN
SCENARIO

Increasing urbanisation and changing lifestyles has led to the MSW

generated in Indian cities having increased from 6 million tonnes in 1947
to 48.1 million tonnes in 1997.
The production and consumption of plastic have increased over 70
times between 1960 and 1995.
The collection of MSW is inefficient (more than 25% of the total is not
collected at all), its transportation is inadequate, and its disposal is
unscientific.
The landfills to dispose of the waste are neither well equipped nor
managed efficiently.

Source: TERI (1998)

Contd..

..Contd
.

The per capita of MSW generated daily, in India ranges from about 100
g in small towns to 500 g in large cities.
There is no national level database for MSW generation, collection and
disposal. The increase in solid waste generation, over the years, was
studied for a few urban centres. For example, the population of
Mumbai grew from around 8.2 million in 1981 to 12.3 million in 1991,
registering a growth of around 49%. While, the MSW generated in the
city increased from 3,200 tonnes per day to 5,355 tonnes per day in the
same period registering a growth of around 67% (CPCB, 2000).
This clearly indicates that the growth in MSW in our urban centres has
outpaced the population growth in recent years. This trend can be
ascribed to our changing lifestyles, food habits, and change in living
standards.

Waste quantum in India

Waste Generation Statistics
Year

Per capita waste Total urban

generated
municipal waste
generated (mt/y)
(g/day)

1971

375

14.9

1981

430

25.1

1991

460

43.5

1997

490

48.1

Source: TERI (1998)

Per capita waste generation rates

Population Average per capita
range (in
waste generation
lakhs)
(g/capita/day)
1 to 5

210

5 to 10

250

10 to 20

270

20 to 50

350

50

500

Source: NEERI strategy paper on

SWM in India (1996)

Quantity of SW generated in Metropolitan cities

(Source: CPCB, 1995)
City

Qty of SW (TPD) City

Qty of SW (TPD)

Mumbai

5000

Jaipur

1021

Calcutta

3500

Kochi

680

Delhi

4600

Coimbatore

710

Chennai

3500

Vadodara

900

Hyderabad

2800

Indore

800

Bangalore

2700

Patna

714

Ahmedabad

1600

Madhrai

711

Pune

1527

Bhopal

500

Kanpur

1314

Vishakapatnam

630

Nagpur

1100

Varansi

660

Lucknow

1043

Ludhiana

656

Surat

1000

Total

37666

Crucial Issues in Municipal Solid Waste

Management in India (Source: TERI, 2001)

O
N
E

T
W
O

T
H
R
E
E

Where do we stand today?

SW collection efficiency
60-70% in major metro cities
50% or less in smaller cities

Most of the Urban Local Bodies

Utilise 30-50% of their staff and resources
Spend Rs.500 to Rs.1,500 per tonne of SW of which
- 60-70% on street sweeping and waste collection
- 20-30% on transportation of wastes
- Less than 5% on final disposal of wastes
Dump SW on low lying areas as they do not have
sanitary landfills
Suffer from non-availability of adequate expertise and
experience
Lack technical, managerial, administrative, financial
resources as well as adequate institutional
arrangements