Solid Waste Management: Insights From Bangalore And National Extrapolation

Co-author: Udhisha Vijay

Solid waste management in India presents distinct challenges because of the diverse urban and rural landscape. Urban areas generate large volumes of mixed waste, which, if not properly managed, often leads to environmental issues such as air pollution, groundwater contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. In rural India, despite lower per capita waste generation, poor infrastructure, awareness, and waste segregation practices lead to unsustainable waste management methods like open burning and indiscriminate dumping.

India produces approximately 62 million tons of waste annually, with major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore contributing significantly. Of this, only about 70% is collected and around 20% processed, leaving a significant quantity of waste in landfills. Despite the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016, which recommends segregation at source and decreasing landfill dependency, the lack of robust systems, public participation, and awareness hampers implementation. In this context, organisations like Saahas and Hasiru Dala provide exemplary models for sustainable waste management.

Saahas Intervention

Established in 2001, Saahas was founded on the principle that waste is a resource when managed effectively. The organization focuses on decentralized waste management solutions, ensuring that waste is segregated, processed, and recycled at the source. Saahas collaborates with industries, institutions, and local bodies to create sustainable waste management practices.

One of their standout contributions is the establishment of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), where dry waste is collected, sorted, and recycled. During the visit, the MRF demonstrated systematic sorting processes, where dry waste is categorized into recyclable materials, resulting in over 90% recyclability. The use of technology for quality checks and compression of plastics (bailing) to optimize transportation efficiency showcased Saahas’s commitment to creating circular waste economies.

Hasiru Dala Intervention

Founded in 2011, Hasiru Dala focuses on improving the livelihoods of waste pickers in Bangalore. The organisation successfully integrates waste pickers into formal waste management systems, providing them with dignified work conditions, social security, and recognition. Hasiru Dala has formalised waste pickers’ roles through MoUs with municipal bodies and offers legal, financial, and social support to waste picker cooperatives. It goes beyond economic support, ensuring healthcare, education opportunities, and protective gear for workers. The informal workforce and fostering collaboration with municipal bodies, Hasiru Dala has improved both the livelihoods of waste pickers and overall waste management practices in Bangalore.

Both organisations emphasise community participation, environmental sustainability, and the formal integration of marginalised waste pickers, offering scalable solutions for India’s waste management challenges.

Key Learning

1. Importance of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs): Saahas’ MRF model shows how efficient segregation and recycling of dry waste can significantly reduce landfill use. The primary and secondary sorting processes ensure that around 92% of materials are recycled.
2. Circular Waste Economy: Both NGOs highlighted the importance of a circular waste economy, where waste materials are repurposed. For example, multi-layered plastic (MLP) is converted into products such as pipes or used in waste-to-energy processes.
3. Dignifying Waste Pickers: Hasiru Dala’s model provides formal recognition, healthcare, insurance, and improved working conditions to waste pickers, helping to integrate them into the formal economy and enhance their livelihoods.
4. Awareness and Community Participation: Both organisations prioritise community engagement through workshops and events, which help bridge the gap between waste generators and handlers.
5. Challenges in Migrant Communities: Waste segregation is more difficult in migrant communities due to language barriers and lack of awareness. Simple training sessions and visual aids have been effective in overcoming these challenges.

The Why

In the MRF model, until some time ago, the wastes were collected and were directly sent to landfills or dump-yards, while a portion of it was sent to recyclers after sorting. Now, to eliminate the amount of wastes entering into the landfills, there comes the need for more MRF plants or dry waste collection centres, where the wet and dry wastes are sorted out.

The wet wastes are being sent to compost pits or biogas plants. Whereas the dry wastes are primarily classified into recyclable and non-recyclable plastics and then further sorted out into different grades of plastics based on the density and material. Post this, the recyclable materials are sent to the recycling plants and the rest (Non- recyclable materials) are sent either to the waste to energy plants where these plastics are burnt to produce energy in cement industries, where the process is called co-processing. The rest of the waste materials are processed, mainly converted into MLP sheets (used as walls, tables, chairs, etc) and the rest are sent to landfills.

The Non-Recyclable Multilayer Plastic

The main problem faced by these sorting units are the non-recyclable material such as the MLP (Multi-Layer Plastics) that are typically used in tetra packets. As the name suggests, these are multiple layers which includes plastics, aluminium, paper. This combined with other factors listed below makes it difficult to recycle.

1. Complex Structure: MLPs are made of multiple layers of different materials bonded together. Separating these layers is technologically challenging and often economically unfeasible.
2. Contamination: Food residues in MLP packaging can contaminate the material, making recycling more difficult and less economically viable.
3. Lack of Market Value: Recycled MLP often doesn’t have a high market value, which discourages investment in recycling infrastructure.
4. Energy-Intensive Process: The recycling processes for MLPs, when available, are often more energy-intensive compared to recycling single-layer plastics.

All The Noise About Segregation At Source

The idea behind segregation at source is that waste is separated properly at the point of generation. It’s easier to recycle and process different types of waste appropriately, reduces contamination between different waste types, making recycling more effective. It can significantly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. makes the job of waste collectors and processors more efficient and hygienic.

Though there is a mandate to segregate the waste at source, the effectiveness is not something that is appreciable. Not all the cities follow this segregation at source. This is more of a behaviour change that has to be addressed to make the people segregate the waste at source. However, poor civic responsibility combined with inefficient municipality methods hinder the efficiency of the change.

But, still there are certain urban cities where there are strict rules and regulations for waste segregation at source and if there are violations, there would be spot fines. Why was Indore able to achieve the tag of cleanest city while other cities aren’t? Administrative will and strict enforcement, strict policy and mandate on waste collection and segregation at source, public participation and awareness are some enablers in our opinion.

The Indian Context: Challenge And Way Forward

India’s waste management landscape is shaped by diverse behavioral, cultural, and socio-economic factors. A tailored approach is required to address these challenges:
● Waste segregation at the household level remains a challenge due to a lack of awareness and civic responsibility.
● Waste management strategies must adapt to local cultural norms and values to ensure community involvement.
● The affordability of reusable products varies across different socio-economic groups, making some solutions impractical for economically disadvantaged populations.
● Fragmented political systems create inconsistent waste management policies across states and municipalities.
● Marginalized communities disproportionately bear the environmental hazards of landfills, highlighting the need for more equitable waste management policies.

India’s Waste Generation

Some relevant statistics:
● Urban Population: 35% (490 million people) of the total population (1.4 billion)
● Rural Population: 65% (910 million people) of the total population
● Total Waste Generation: As per reports, India generates 62 million tons of solid waste annually (urban areas alone). Rural areas generally generate less waste, about 0.3 kg/day per person compared to 0.5 kg/day per person in urban areas.

Supply To Value Chain

India needs a localized waste management model that combines global best practices with Indigenous solutions:

• Decentralization: Localized waste management through composting, MRFs, and waste-to-energy systems
• Community-Driven Solutions: Active community participation is key to successful waste management
• Integration of Informal Workers: Recognizing and supporting waste pickers within formal systems will enhance both livelihoods and waste management outcomes
• Public-Private Partnerships: Collaboration between government, private companies, and civil society is essential to scale up waste management systems
• Behavioral Change Campaigns: Educational initiatives that promote segregation at source and responsible waste disposal are vital

Comparison With Other Nations

Though the average per capita waste production in a day is comparatively less than the other developed Nations, why is India not able to have a robust waste management system?

• Population
  • With population, the sheer volume of waste increases
  • High population density in cities creates unique challenges for waste collection, transportation, and processing facility location
  • With 65% rural population, India needs different strategies for rural areas compared to urban centres, making the system more complex. With 65% rural population, India needs different strategies for rural areas compared to urban centres, making the system more complex.
• Infrastructure Gap: India severely lacks modern waste processing facilities, particularly WtE plants and mechanical-biological treatment facilities, compared to other nations.
• Segregation Issues: Unlike countries such as Japan or Germany, India lacks effective waste segregation systems at the source, making downstream processing more difficult.
• Policy Implementation: While other nations have strict enforcement of waste management policies, India struggles with implementing and enforcing such regulations effectively.

Conclusion

The exposure visit to Saahas and Hasiru Dala provided valuable insights into the importance of decentralised waste management systems and the role of community participation. Moving forward, India needs to:

• Decentralise waste management systems by promoting local MRFs, composting, and waste-to-energy solutions
• Formalise the role of informal workers, especially waste pickers
• Encourage public-private partnerships and involve communities in waste management initiatives