1

Small-scale decentralized and sustainable municipal solid waste management potential

for Bangalore anchored around total recycle and biomethanation plants
HN Chanakya
11
, Shwetmala
1
and TV Ramachandra
1,2
1
Centre for Sustainable Technologies, ndian nstitute of Science, !angalore "#$ $12, ndia%
&mail' chanakya(astra%iisc%ernet%in, shwetmala(astra%iisc%ernet%in
2
Centre for &cological Science and Centre for Sustainable Technologies, ndian nstitute of
Science, !angalore "#$ $12, ndia% &mail' cest)r(ces%iisc%ernet%in
1
*Corres+onding ,uthor' -r% H N Chanakya
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2
Small-scale decentralized and sustainable municipal solid waste management potential
for Bangalore anchored around total recycle and biomethanation plants
Abstract
!angalore is among fi)e largest cities of ndia +roducing about 5#$$ tons +er day of munici+al
solid waste 60S/7% 0S/ in !angalore usually has a high +ercentage of fermentable organic
com+onents that degrade easily in nature% 8resently, !angalore em+loys a 9uasi2centrali:ed
collection system followed by an o+en2to2sky +rocessing and land filling% , significant fraction
also undergoes o+en dum+ing% Collection and trans+ortation systems are today 9uite
satisfactory; that does not allow anaesthetic accumulation of wastes in residential area or street
corners% The informal sector for recycling is also 9uite acti)e in collecting the recyclables from
houses, o+en bins 6where)er +resent7, other collection <trans+ortation systems as well as from
dum+ing and +rocessing sites% , few of the recyclers +urchase recyclables from indi)idual
household, as is done in se)eral +arts of the country% The +a+er describes the +otential for
residential locality based recycling and +rocessing systems in)ol)ing total reco)ery and
recycling of the recyclables and con)ersion of organic fermentables to biogas% n the +ast, a
large number of such units ha)e functioned achie)ing )arious le)els of success = howe)er
none of them re+orted to be commercially )iable% 0ost of such efforts did not sustain long
+eriods and were often abandoned midway due to +olitical and <or economic issues% n this
+a+er we describe a locality based system and use its field data to show that commercially run
+rocessing systems can become )iable% n order for this to ha++en, it is firstly necessary to
achie)e a high degree of non2organic waste recycling and in +lace of com+osting, the
fermentable wastes are transformed to locally used biogas = this combination can alone be
sustainable in today>s state of art in this area%
Keywords' !angalore, 0unici+al solid waste, sustainability, decentrali:ed +rocessing%
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Introduction
!angalore city, one among the fi)e metros in ndia, +roduces about 5#$$ tons +er day 6t+d7 of
munici+al solid wastes 60S/7% , ma?or constituent 612@7 of this is organic waste% 8resently,
!angalore em+loys a 9uasi2centrali:ed collection system cou+led with generally an o+en2to2sky
com+ost based +rocessing and subse9uent landfill based dis+osal% The collection and
trans+ortation systems are functioning 9uite satisfactory% This does not allow accumulation of
wastes near residential areas or street corners% The waste collection system from house holds
6HH7 closely follows the 0unici+al solid waste 6handling and management7 0S/ 6HA07 Rules
2$$$, em+loying a )ariety of small +owered and non2+owered )ehicles for direct door2to2door
collection of wastes% The eBtent of wastes collected ranges from 1"2C$@ of the total wastes
generated% n order to a)oid the multi+le handling of wastes, the State Do)ernment has
remo)ed most of the o+en bins in residential areas% Residents now hand o)er wastes directly
to collection workers% t also restricts accumulation of waste near residential area or near street
corners% nformal sector for recycling is also 9uite acti)e in !angalore and is res+onsible for
collecting the recyclables from o+en bins 6where)er +resent7, other collection systems and from
dum+ing and <or +rocessing sites% , few of these recyclers also +urchase the recyclables from
indi)idual households% n this way, the informal sector, in )arious forms, is re+orted to be
acti)ely reco)ering the recyclable wastes without too much of Do)ernment interference 6Van,
1CCE7% Howe)er, earlier, when wastes were dum+ed by households in street bins, it +ro)ided a
good o++ortunity for rag2+ickers to reco)er most of the recyclables 6Chanakya and
Sharatchandra, 2$$"7% t is also im+ortant that a decentrali:ed and economically )iable
+rocessing and management system is re9uired for fermentable com+onents of the 0S/ in
order to be sustainable in the long run% n !angalore, the informal sector does not +artici+ate in
collection, +rocessing or recycling of organic waste com+onents as re+orted for many other
urban or +eri urban cities of Farnataka 6Nunan, 2$$$7% t has been re+orted that till recently,
about #$@ of the 0S/ collected was dum+ed at about #$ known and unknown 6unrecorded7
dum+ing sites around !angalore% Gurther, among these more than 5" sites recei)ed a miBture
of domestic and industrial waste 6Hakshmikantha, 2$$#7% ,s !angalore is ra+idly com+lying
with the 0S/ 6HA07 2$$$ rules, a large fraction of the 0S/ is reaching designated
Iintegrated +rocessing and landfill sitesJ around !angalore%
Citi:en, resident welfare associations 6R/,7 and non2go)ernmental organi:ations 6NDK7 ha)e
in the +ast set u+ many small scale +rocessing and treatment units% These small scale
collection, treatment and +rocessing units ha)e o)er two decades achie)ed different le)els of
success of moti)ational 6information, education and communication, &C7 acti)ities% The city of
!angalore has a rich eB+erience in decentrali:ed, resident association, Non Do)ernment
Krgani:ation 6NDK7 and other forms of small initiati)es at resident locality based treatment and
+rocessing of 0S/% The !angalore city cor+oration 6.rban Hocal !ody, .H!7 = !ruhat
!angalore 0ahanagar 8alike 6!!087 has been interested and su++orti)e or su++orting these
small scale efforts in many ways in the +ast% t su++orts +ri)ate and NDK initiati)es as a way
of eB+anding its own waste ser)ices throughout the city% , systematic waste management
re9uires an acti)e a++roach of .H!s along with +ublic +artici+ation% n large metro+olitan area
6with a +o+ulation of 1 million or more7, it is difficult to ha)e meaningful +ublic +artici+ation, a
decentrali:ed system is needed to stimulate more acti)e +eo+le>s +artici+ation 6,++asamy,
1CCE7% n some of the latest trials, attem+ts ha)e been made to carry out decentrali:ed waste
treatment by ra+id aerobic com+osting with some degree of success 6Subramanya, 2$$C, +er%
comm%7 cou+led to reco)ery, +rocessing and sale of recyclables% Se)eral small scale efforts
ha)e been tried to reduce the +ressure on trans+ortation of wastes from localities where they
ha)e been generated% Se)eral resident welfare based organi:ations ha)e in the +ast
attem+ted to +rocess 0S/ within the locality of its generation and the most recent one has
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been the Lelahanka New Town facility% This com+rises of a +rimary segregation system that
remo)es a lot of the recyclables and lea)es behind the fermentables that is com+osted in "$ kg
lots% The +lastics 6H-8&<H-8&7 are washed with hot water, dried and melted into slabs and
finally sent for re2forming or recycling% Com+osting as the main method for rendering
acce+table the fermentable fraction of .S/, es+ecially in the residential areas, does not yield
high through+uts for successful enter+rises% Common factor among all of these systems has
been the dri)e from the residents to kee+ their locality aesthetically and en)ironmentally clean
= usually anchored by a few elderly or retired +ersonnel% ,nother feature of these systems has
been a rather e+hemeral +eriod of successful o+eration% 0ost of these systems ha)e
functioned for a s+ecific +eriod because of the ins+iration of a few in the locality and +ro++ed
u+ due to a sense of ci)ic res+onsibility among these few% /ith +assing age and difficulty in
sustaining the initial :eal at a latter +eriod, these initiati)es ha)e often re)erted to the
con)entional, go)ernment run <mediated collection and dis+osal systems% The city of
!angalore is re+lete with such eBam+les% n most of the cases economic sustainability or
+olitical will ha)e been the weak link because of which such good efforts ha)e come to a
naught% , model that could then sur)i)e not merely on society>s endogenous dri)e but also
+ossesses economic and +olitical sustainability = is of great im+ortance%
Today we know that there are se)eral small localities willing to o+erate decentrali:ed 0S/
+rocessing and treatment systems% Ha)ing established this fact, we attem+t to eBamine the
)arious combinations of costs and income sources that can be made financially and
commercially )iable <sustainable% Crucial to this has been the recent introduction of small scale
biomethanation as a re)enue generation o+tion that remo)es the menace of odour and fly
nuisance associated with aerobic com+osting attem+ts 6Chanakya et al, 2$$C; Rahman et al,
2$$C7% /e attem+t to show that such a combination would not only make decentrali:ed 0S/
+rocessing and treatment sustainable, it will also greatly reduce the costs of S/0 trans+ort at
the city le)el and will +a)e way for many small entre+reneurs to carry out decentrali:ed
+rocessing facilities and be economically, en)ironmentally and socially sustainable%
Changing composition of USW and its impact
n the last 2$ years the com+osition of the wastes generated both at the residence le)els as
well as the city le)el has changed significantly% Tables 1 and 2 show the generation rates and
+hysical com+osition of !angalore 0S/ collected from different ty+es of waste generators%
0S/ recorded, com+rises of wastes generated from residences, markets, hotels and
restaurants, commercial +remises, slums, street swee+ings and +arks% Residences contribute
""@ of total of wastes, which is highest among all sources 6T-&, 2$$$7% /aste generated
from hotels and eateries form about 2$@, fruit and )egetable markets contribute about 1"@,
trade and commerce about #@ and from street swee+ing and +arks about 5@, % The slum
areas contribute only 1@ of total% This is because the slum +o+ulation and area in !angalore is
low in com+arison to other cities and towns% Table 2 shows the waste com+osition of !angalore
com+rising +redominantly fermentables 612@7, and +a+er and cardboard 611%#@7%
The high wet and fermentable waste content of !angalore 0S/ re9uires its daily remo)al from
+laces of generation% n a decentrali:ed system, wastes gathered from +rimary collection by
handcarts may be sub?ect to immediate treatment by aerobic com+osting or biomethanation
within the locality or ward% This will a)oid trans+ortation costs of around Rs1$$$21"$$<t and
thus will be more sustainable and economic% n the +ast a significant com+onent of the wastes
+laced in o+en street bins were ra+idly sought by rag2+ickers who remo)ed the recyclables%
The im+act of this is +resented in Gigures 1a, 1b and 2, which show that the +ercentage of
organic waste will 9uickly increase in 0S/ from +rimary collection +oint to the time it reaches
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the dum+ site due to multile)el reco)ery of recyclable wastes% This also changes the eBtent of
decom+osable com+onent of the wastes and +resents )arious other forms of en)ironmental
im+lications 6Chanakya and Sharatchandra, 2$$"7% ,s the wastes gradually becomes enriched
with easy to decom+ose materials, it also becomes easily amenable to anaerobic fermentation
+rocesses that con)ert the organic matter within to CK
2
and CH
E
, the latter being a greenhouse
gas% Grom 1C33 to 2$$$ there is a reasonable change in waste com+osition' fermentables,
+a+er and +lastic has content increased by 1@, 5@ and $%2@, res+ecti)ely%
able !" #SW generation in Bangalore
Source Muantity
6t<d7
Com+osition
6@ by weight7
-omestic 13$ ""
0arkets 21$ 1"
Hotels and eatery 2C$ 2$
Trade and commercial 3" #
Slums 2$ 1
Street swee+ing and +arks E$ 5
Source' Chanakya and Sharatchandra, 2$$"
able $" %hysical composition of #SW in Bangalore
/aste ty+e Com+osition 6@ by weight7
-omestic 0arket
s
Hotels
and
eatery
Trade and
commercial
Slums Street
swee+ing
s and
+arks
,ll
sources
Germentable 11%"$ C$ 1# 1"%# 2C%C C$ 12
8a+er and cardboard 3%5C 5 11 "#%E 2%EC 2 11%#
Cloth, rubber, 8VC, leather 1%5C $%55 5%C" $%"E $ 1%$1
Dlass 2%2C $%25 $%#" 3%E5 $ 1%E5
8olythene<+lastics #%CE 1 2 1#%# 1%12 5 #%25
0etals $%2C $%2# $%53 $%25 $ $%25
-ust and swee+ing 3%$# E 3%11 "#%1 " #%"5
Source' T-&, 2$$$
Fermentable
65%
Paper
8%
Miscellaneous
12%
Metal
3%
Glass
6%
Polythene/ plastic
6%
&igure !a" Composition of USW immediately after being places in bins 6Ra?aba+aiah, 1C337
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Fermentable
78%
Miscellaneous
15%
Paper
4%
Metal
%
Glass
1%
Polythene/ plastic
2%
&igure !b" Composition of USW after ragpic'ers sort and recycled materials 6Ra?aba+aiah, 1C337
Metal
% Glass
1%
Polythene/ plastic
!%
Paper
11%
Miscellaneous
!%
Fermentable
7%
&igure $" Composition of USW found at the dumpsites 6T-&, 2$$$7
Changing (uantity
Drowth of city area and increase in +o+ulation 6as well as +o+ulation density7 has increased the
total 9uantity of 0S/ generated daily from #"$ t+d 61C337 to 1E"$ t+d 62$$$7 and 5#$$ t+d
6currently7% /ith time there is slight change in com+osition of waste% The current estimates
indicate that around 5#$$ tons of 0S/ is +roduced each day in the city% This has increased the
+er ca+ita generation from $%1# 61C337 to $%"3 kg<d 62$$C7% The ra+id increase in the .S/
generation rate has been due to the ra+id changes in lifestyles of the residents brought about
by the high demands for software +rofessionals and ancillary and su++ort +rofessions% The
ra+id increase from 1E"$ in 2$$$ to 5#$$ t+d in 2$$32$C itself corroborates the abo)e change
and rising generation rate% This has brought about +roblems by the way of safe +rocessing and
dis+osal of .S/ around !angalore% n addition, the city has eB+anded from about%2$$ km
2
in
the C$>s to about 3$$ km
2
of greater !angalore% This has in the first +lace brought many of the
traditional dum+ing sites close to the city or within its boundary and therefore a need to find
new locations has arisen% The 9uantum of wastes generated is far greater than the ca+acity of
the three +ermitted waste treatment and dis+osal sites, namely, 0a)alli+ura, 0andur and
Singehalli% ,s these locations are 9uite far2off, many of the trucks illegally dum+ on new
locations on the roadsides and interior areas around !angalore so as to reduce their
trans+ortation costs% The numbers of the shifting dum+sites has thus grown from the original
re+orted #$ 6Hakshmikantha, 2$$#7 to much more than this number% There is now a need to
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determine the new locations where the city wastes are being dum+ed and assess the economic
and en)ironmental harm +osed by these short term dum+sites%
)*tent of recycling
!angalore wastes ha)e 21%21@ of the recyclable materials' +a+er, +olythene, cloth, rubber,
glass and metals% Recyclable materials are one of the ma?or sources of income% Seen below in
Table 5, we indicate a hy+othetical 1 t+d scale 0S/ based decentrali:ed biomethanation and
recyclable material reco)ery system% The results show that reco)ery of recyclable material of
one ton waste will +ro)ide income of Rs%1E"1<t based on the known com+osition in 2$$$% ,
decentrali:ed system with biomethanation and resource reco)ery through recyclable materials
is currently running in Lelahanka New Town, North of !angalore%
able +" %roposed ! tpd scale decentralized biomethanation and recyclable reco,ery system
Muantity
<cost Rs
Reco)ery 6@7 Rate Rs<kg or
Rs<m
5
Rs
N8.T Ca+ital cost<d 12$$ Rs 12$$
K, 0A-<d E"$ Rs E"$
Total in+ut 1#"$
K.T8.T Das out+ut #$ m
5
<d 1$$ C$$ C$$
8a+er 11# kg "$ 1" 31$
Cloth, rubber,
8VC, leather
1$%1 kg "$ 12 #1
Dlass 1E%5 kg "$ 5 21
8olythene<+lastics #2%5 kg "$ 12 51E
0etals 1$ kg "$ 2" 12"
Total
out+ut
25"1
N&T D,N 1$1
Source' Chanakya et al%, 2$$C
Sustainability
Sustainability of a waste management system re9uires satisfaction of a minimum of three
sustainability bottom2line factors namely, economic, en)ironmental and social sustainability% ,t
+resent, city em+loys a door to door collection system where waste is collected directly from
households and is not dum+ed in the street bins as before% This +ro)ides little o++ortunities for
con)entional rag +ickers to reco)er recyclables% Grom the +rimary collection acti)ity, the
collection +ersonnel reco)er a few of the easily saleable recyclable materials from where it
goes to dum+site without any serious effort at segregation or treatment +rocess% ,t two of the
three +rocessing sites, there are frontline segregation units that discard lighter materials and
break +olythene bags containing domestic wastes% This se+arates out +lastics, rags and fluff,
wet fermentables and also hea)y materials such as metals, glass, tyres and stones% /ith such
a +re2+rocessing stage the fermentable content rises significantly% &arlier mentioned
com+osition of 0S/ shows that it has 12@ of fermentable waste, with high moisture content%
This situation is conduci)e to +rocessing of the fermentables by com+osting or biomethanation%
/hen com+osting of such high moisture feedstock is attem+ted by con)entional windrow
based com+osting +rocess it generates eBcessi)e amount of leachates, es+ecially in the rainy
season and its fermentation results in malodors due to inade9uate su++ly of air 6Chanakya et
al%, 2$$17% t is thus im+ortant that such wastes are treated ra+idly in decentrali:ed units of " to
1$ t+d ca+acities% ,t this scale of "$$21$$$ t+d there are few working technologies ca+able of
acce+ting ty+ical com+osition of ndian 0S/ for biomethanation% t is estimated that one ton of
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wastes re9uires about Rs%2"$ for +rocessing by windrow com+osting 6!asa)aiah, 2$$3 +er
comm%7% ,s a result a large 9uantity of wastes are found untreated at these large treatment
facilities and it is therefore suggested that, when waste collection is :oned and collected :one2
wise, the +redominant resident and hotel wastes could be collected se+arately and treated
nearer the site of +roduction by biomethanation within each ward as has been done in the case
of Lelahanka trial +rocess with small scale 6"$ kg7 com+osting units% This firstly a)oids the
need for trans+ortation and thus sa)es the trans+ortations costs% This has the ca+ability of
reco)ering a large eBtent of +lastics and other recyclables making the o)erall +rocess more
sustainable, economically and en)ironmentally s+eaking% The sustainability of such
decentrali:ed biomethanation systems is discussed later% Small scale biomethanation +lants
ha)e been in o+eration in three towns of Farnataka on a trial basis and that in Siragu++a town
has been in o+eration since 2$$5 6Rahman et al, 2$$C7% ,t this location there are three $%" t+d
ca+acity 52:one fermenters daily fed a total of 1%"22%" t of secondary segregated .S/ of
Sirgu++a town% The digested material is then sub?ect to )ermi2com+osting and the reco)ered
)ermi2com+ost is re2used in )arious town gardens etc% making the o)erall +rocess economically
better than merely com+osting
)conomic sustainability' The eBisting system of waste management re9uires a net in+ut of
re)enue for continuous o+eration% Girstly, there is a need to s+end Rs%1$$$21"$$<t for
trans+orting wastes after +rimary collection to locations where it to be ti++ed 6waste treatment
facilities7 that are between E$2#$ km outside the city% n addition the waste treatment facility
charges Rs%#$$<t 6of landfilled .S/7 as ti++ing fee% The ti++ing fee +ro)ided is calculated on
the basis that 5$@ of the wastes will be landfilled and conse9uently 5%5t of in+ut .S/ will lead
to a cost of Rs%#$$ as ti++ing fee% This may be sim+lified to be Rs%2$$<t of .S/ brought into
the waste treatment facility% This indicates that there is a net in+ut of Rs%1E"$<t of wastes
brought in for treatment at the integrated waste treatment site% There is )ery little re)enue
streams arising out of this ty+e of facility and therefore it is considered not economically )iable
in the long run%
n the +ro+osed decentrali:ed system containing a biomethanation +lant and +rimary
segregation and resource reco)ery system as has been demonstrated in Lelahanka trials 6si:e
"22$ t+d7, one ton of .S/ would result in #$ m
5
of biogas whose )alue is Rs%C$$ as fuel gas%
6Table E7% , decentrali:ed system on the other hand would not in)ol)e any trans+ortation
costs% Kne ton of wastes of the com+osition indicated earlier ha)e the +otential to reco)er the
following at 1$$@ reco)ery 6although 1$$@ reco)ery is difficult we indicate +otential7% n Table
5 we ha)e indicated the +otential costs and benefits from a 1 t+d scale decentrali:ed
biomethanation N recyclable reco)ery system% The results show that decentrali:ed systems,
not accounting for land costs, are more +rofitable and hence higher in the scale of economic
sustainability than centrali:ed large waste treatment systems currently +racticed% This is
ob)ious that small scales, the eBtent of reco)ery of recyclables can reach nearly 1$$@ and that
at the dum+site barely crosses 5$@ 6)isual estimate from one site in !angalore7%
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able -" Income potential from a decentralized !tpd system containing biomethanation
plant where gas produced is con,erted to power or C./0
n)ested ca+ital 607 1 $%" Kut+uts
Ca+ital reco)ery <d, 1$ yr 5$$ 1"$ Das out+ut 6m
5
<d7 #$
nterest 6S, ( 1"@7 E"$ 22" R&T.RN&- ,S
K,0A-(1$@N"@lbr E"$ 22" 8ower 61%" k/h<m
5
7 5#$
8rofit E"$ 22" ,s gas C$$
Com+ost 21$
1#"
$
32" Case 1, +ower #5$
Case 2, CND 111$
Source' Chanakya et al%, 2$$C
)n,ironmental sustainability"
K+en dum+ing is conduci)e to the generation and release of DHDs, such as methane = ha)ing
21 times more DHD +otential than CK
2
60orgenstern, 1CC17% 0ethane is released when 0S/
with a high content of moisture, as found in !angalore 0S/, is dum+ed in the o+en ra+idly and
to a greater height% Howe)er, in this case not all the +art of the fermentables are con)erted to
methane% , significant +art of it suffers aerobic decom+osition due to large s+aces within and
8CC default )alues suggest that about "$@ is sub?ect to anaerobic digestion and only that
fraction contributes to methane generation% Kur estimates indicate that fermentable of
!angalore waste has +otential for a maBimum of #%2E kgCH
E
<t and using 8CC default this
)alue is estimated to be 2E%C" kgCH
E
<t% ,s .S/ in !angalore has high moisture content, the
8CC default )alues need to be corrected for its moisture content to obtain sensible emission
data% The key en)ironmental sustainability gained here is by the fact that #%2E kg of methane is
not emitted from .S/ and conse9uently a C2foot+rint of #%2E kg is reduced% Second, when
accountable for such a le)el of C2foot+rint +er ton .S/, there is a cost a)oided for methane
not emitted% Third, if these fermentable wastes are used in decentrali:ed manner to generate
biogas, 1$@ of biochemical methane +otential 6!087 can be reco)ered and can be a chea+er
source of energy% This a)oids the use of an e9ui)alent 9uantity of fossil fuels in the )icinity%
Gourth, the recycling of )arious com+onents such as +lastics, +a+er, glass and metal would
offset )arious le)els of DHD that are +roduced in the making of this +rimary +roduct 6not
estimated in this +a+er7% ,s we head into a climate conscious society, it is im+erati)e that we
+lan to reduce the +otential DHD emissions from waste management%
Social sustainability'
-ecentrali:ed waste treatment will +ro)ide li)elihood to 2 +ersons <ton in the energy unit
6biomethanation +lant7 as well as another two +ersons in the waste recycling unit% /hen
collection is included, another 3 +ersons may be em+loyed% n the case of !angalore,
s+eaking of +otential, when com+ared to the centrali:ed units, the decentrali:ed system would
em+loy about 1$$$ +ersons daily in treatment, 1$$$ in +rocessing and 23,$$$ in +rimary
collection% The treatment of wastes near the +oint of generation returns many )alue added
+roduct locally such as gas for use in domestic and commercial uses in the locality, )ermi2
com+ost or com+ost for local uses, recycled +lastics for locally useful +roducts including road
laying etc% t will greatly increase the trade and social res+onsibility of wastes in the locality%
The eBact nature and eBtent of social sustainability will need to be 9uantified in a detailed study
later%
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otal 1ecycling 2 the 1#3-II #odel
R0V eBtension stage , of Bangalore is a high income group area with a mi*ture of
residential building and few small shops0 BB#% is managing the #SW at this locality0
The ward councillor was greatly interested in im+ro)ing waste management system as it will
gi)e him +olitical )isibility, and at least one of the waste entre+reneurs also has +olitical
ambitions0 Some of the families were aware of waste and its en)ironmental im+acts, so they
were )ery keen to start a +ro+er management of waste and to make their ward as the first :ero
waste emission ward of !angalore% , #$ days +ro?ect was started by NDK O&Bnora Dreen
Cross> for 52$ families of this locality% he pro4ect aimed to establish a SW# system in the
whole area later on0 he system would include primary collection with some gradually
increasing source segregation 5into organic and inorganic waste67 storage and disposal
of different types of solid waste in an en,ironmentally friendly manner0 Waste was
collected twice in a day7 but e,ening collection was ,ery poor since most of the families
would refuse to contribute to the e,ening waste collection0 he central components of
the whole system were the twice collection and separation of waste into reusable
8recyclables 5to be sold6 and the composting of organic waste0 rained waste collectors
were appointed for door-to-door collection and for waste segregation0 1esidents were
moti,ated to store and hand o,er separated household garbage twice in a day0 Initially
only $9 houses hand o,er segregated household waste7 but within !:-!9 days the
number of house became almost double0 ),eryday on an a,erage around $0; 'g
fermentable wastes were coming from each of the families0 he fermentables 5including
food waste and garden wastes6 were composted on raised platforms to ensure better
aeration and lower smell0 his too' about two months to con,ert these fermentables
into compost0 With the progress of time number of composting beds was increased
which had also increased the associated problems li'e smell and flies0 Although these
problems were under 'ept to a minimum7 the announcing of elections ga,e rise to
political dissent and on the grounds of smell and the effort was to be stopped at least
temporarily0 After $! days this pro4ect was stopped by ward councillor fearing loss of
his re-election prospects% Howe)er, meticulous data has been collected as to the ty+es and
9uantities of recyclables that were brought to this site% ,s these were segregated and ke+t
ready for sales, it ga)e an eBcellent record of the market )alue of the recyclables that were
reco)ered 6Table "7% !ased on this +ro?ect information, economic costs are calculated for
decentrali:ed waste management with com+ost +lant as gi)en in Table "% .nder the eBisting
scenario, we calculate that with com+ost as the main +roduct and in an enter+rise mode and
under conditions reigning in !angalore the cost reco)ery +eriod would be in the range of E
years 6Table #, assuming 1$$@ recycling7% This is howe)er u+ to +lan and may not be
achie)ed easily% Howe)er, when the recycling and reco)ery efficiency dro+s to 3$@ the +ro?ect
is in )iable% ,n additional source of re)enue needs to be identified to make the +ro?ect
economic% /e then eBamine the con)ersion of the fermentables to biogas and eB+ect that sale
of biogas locally would offset the financial deficit +ro?ected here%
Ultimate Sustainability 2 1#3-II with Anaerobic <igestion'
The decentrali:ed +rocessing and recycling system based on com+ost and 1$$@ reco)ery
shows a small +romise of +rofitability in an enter+rise mode assuming this is carried out on a
soft lease basis 6no land costs7% t is ob)ious that it is economic only at 1$$@ reco)ery and this
may be difficult to achie)e% There is clearly a need for another source of re)enue generation to
make the enter+rise +rofitable% Thus instead of aerobic com+osting the organic fraction
6leading to only one saleable +roduct = com+ost7, it is +ro+osed to con)ert it to biogas and
com+ost 6two saleable +roducts7 by installing a biomethanation +lant of the CST design =
similar to the one successfully o+erated for o)er " years in Siragu++a 6Rahman et al, 2$$C7% n
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this scenario, the eBtent of recyclables reco)ered and earnings accrued does not change from
the +re)ious scenario, the income from collection fees also remains the same% The )arious
costs and returns on in)estment are worked out for a decentrali:ed waste management with a
biomethanation +lant as the as gi)en in Table #% n this scenario, it is clear that under ideal
situation of 1$$@ reco)ery of recyclables, collection costs and biogas and com+ost re)enues,
the +ay back +eriod is only 2 years% &)en under an 3$@ reco)ery situation, the )iability is
good%
The costs are calculated at a labour cost of Rs1$$<head +er day 6!angalore rates7 and a
com+ost sale at Rs5$$$<t% n small towns these are different% The labour costs are lower 6Rs
#$7, the collection fee could only be about Rs2$<HH, the com+ost re)enues are lower at Rs
2$$$<t and biogas )alue would be 2$@ lower% Similarly recyclables will also fetch a lower
)alue% Thus when all the incomes from this system is lowered by 2$@ and com+ost )alue
chosen at Rs2$$$<t and daily wage at Rs#$<d, the biomethanation o+tion is still )iable 6Table
17% This suggests that in a +ractical scenario biomethanation +lant o+tion is more economic
and less sensiti)e to risks in com+arison to aerobic com+ost +lant% ,long with economic
sustainability, biomethanation o+tions ha)e many other li)elihood o+tions 6Chanakya et al,
2$$C; not discussed here7% Com+osting +rocess also re9uires continuous use of water of
around 2$$25$$ litres +er ton of waste 68atel, 2$$57, which limited its use in dry area or in
water scarce city like !angalore% -aily collection of fermentables and its ra+id feeding into the
biomethanation +lant o)ercomes and a)oids the smell and insects, rat and dog +roblems%
!iogas +lant and com+osting bed gi)e same 9uantity of com+ost, while com+ost beds take two
to three months whereas in biomethanation +lant it takes shorter +eriod of 5$d to decom+ose%
The foot+rint would then be smaller% The enter+rise could also claim C2credits 6C&Rs7 which
become yet another source of re)enues% Ginally, it may be seen that the o+eration costs are
high due to high in)ol)ement of labour% , ma?or +art of the labour is in)ol)ed in segregation%
,s residents become aware and stakeholders the segregation needs would be low and labour
de+loyment could be reduced by about E$@ making the system e)en more +rofitable% n
!angalore, where demand of anaerobic com+ost is high, biomethanation would be a )iable
+rocess with a +ay back +eriod as short as 2 years under ideal conditions and as much as "
years under less ideal conditions% The ad)antage of biomethanation is e)en more +ronounced
in small towns where re)enue streams from com+ost and recycling will be thinner% /e thus
show that biomethanation based decentrali:ed system is ideal for ndian conditions for making
decentrali:ed 0S/ +rocessing and treatment economically )iable and sustainable in the long
run%
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able 9" <ecentralized Waste #anagement with compost plant
Decentralized Waste Management with compost
Categories Rs/year Optimum
Scenario
"apital #n$estment 265%
"ap costs &s/yr'1%% 265%
(epreciation 38225%
Maintenance 3!75%
)peration cost *&s/yr+ 4!3!46%
Total expenditure per year 5!"#$%&& 5837!6%
#ncome ,rom collection ,ee'&s%3/-- 1152% !216%
#ncome ,rom recyclables 23!31!%11 1!1455%2!
"ompost sale 22!!5% 183!6%
Total net income per year 5''$#%(( '$"5"5%)#
Surplus o* income o+er expenditure 673%11 .11622%71
Capital Reco+ery ,eriod 36%8
able ;" <ecentralized Waste #anagement with biogas plant
Decentralized optimum Waste Management with -iogas plant
Categories Rs/year Optimum
Scenario
"apital #n$estment 5865%
"ap costs &s/yr'1%% 5865%
(epreciation 35425%
Maintenance 3!!75%
)peration cost 4!3!46%
Total expenditure per year $)"##$%&& 627!!6%
#ncome ,rom collection ,ee'&s%3/-- 1152% !216%
#ncome ,rom recyclables 23!31!%11 1!1455%2!
#ncome ,rom bio/as 325215 26172%
"ompost sale 22!!5% 183!6%
Total net income per year #&#$'%(( ")""'"%)#
Surplus o* income o+er expenditure )($%(( ##"5(%)#
Capital Reco+ery ,eriod 2%1 5%!
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able =" Composting and Biomethanation option for a small town scenario
.% Decentralized Waste Management with compost
Categories Rs/year Optimum
Scenario
"apital #n$estment 265%
"ap costs &s/yr'1%% 265%
(epreciation 38225%
Maintenance 3!75%
)peration cost *&s/yr+ 321146%
Total expenditure per year '(&##$%&& 41!!6%
#ncome ,rom collection
,ee'&s%2/--
768% 6144%
#ncome ,rom recyclables 167523%38 13418%7
"ompost sale 1533% 12264%
Total net income per year !#"$)!%! !(&#%"&
Surplus o* income o+er
expenditure
.13372%62 .!28!7%3
Capital Reco+ery ,eriod .15%4
.ssumptions o* costs *or a small town
0alue o, compost &s/t 2
0alue o, 1io/as *&s/m3+ 12
"ost o, 2abour *&s/person/3+ 6
"ollection Fee *&s/--/month+ 2
0alue o, recyclables *less by 3%+ 167523%38
/% Decentralized optimum Waste Management with -iogas
plant
"ate/ories &s/year )ptimum
4cenario
"apital #n$estment 5865%
"ap costs &s/yr'1%% 5865%
(epreciation 35425%
Maintenance 3!!75%
)peration cost 321146%
5otal e6pen3iture per year 4551!6% 4551!6%
#ncome ,rom collection
,ee'&s%2/--
768% 6144%
#ncome ,rom recyclables 167523%38 13418%7
#ncome ,rom bio/as 26172 28137%6
"ompost sale 1533% 12264%
5otal Gross income per year 6577!5%38 526236%3
5otal net income per year 225!!%38 714%3
Capital Reco+ery ,eriod 2%! 8%3
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1E
Conclusion
The costs of 0S/ collection, trans+ort, +rocessing and dis+osal is gradually becoming
eB+ensi)e and e)en less sustainable% There is a need to treat the 0S/ nearer the source so
that segregation and reco)ery of recyclables are more efficient% This calls for a decentrali:ed
system within localities% -ecentrali:ed systems run so far ha)e had aesthetic 6smell and insect7
and economic +roblems and ha)e always been short li)ed% Running these sustainably in a
decentrali:ed manner re9uires firstly a good technology such as biomethanation 6to first a)oid
smell and insects7 that +ro)ides many more re)enue streams 6as from sale of biogas, C2
credits, a)oiding insecticides, a)oiding methane emissions, com+ost, etc%7 and secondly
reasonably good reco)ery and sale of recyclables% n this +a+er we also show that the
biomethanation based decentrali:ed systems ha)e lower business risks because of a large
s+read of re)enue streams% This also a)oids eB+enditure of o)er 1"$$<t for the munici+alities
and .H!s which becomes a big sa)ing and can be in)ested in de)elo+ment% t is therefore
im+ortant that this conce+t be tried with at )arious munici+alities so that we could become :ero2
waste cities of the future%
1eference
,++asamy, 8%8% 1CCE% nstitutional o+tions in the +ro)ision of urban ser)ices' The case of solid
waste management in ndian cities% /orksho+ on IHinkages in .rban Solid waste
0anagementJ% FSCST% Sc% !angalore% ndia% 1C25$%
Chanakya, H%N% and Sharatchandra, H%C% 2$$"% DHD foot+rint of a de)elo+ing country city =
!angalore% ,STR, technical re+ort, CST% !angalore%
Chanakya, H%N%, Ramachandra T%V%, Vi?ayachamundeeswari% 2$$1% &n)iron 0onit ,ssess% -K
1$%1$$1<s1$##12$$12C1122E%
Chanakya, H%N%, Ramachandra, T%V% and Shwetmala% 2$$C% Towards a sustainable waste
management system for !angalore% 1st nternational Conference on Solid /aste
0anagement and &Bhibition on 0unici+al Ser)ices, .rban -e)elo+ment, 8ublic /orks,
conS/0 2$$C, Folkata, ndia%
Hakshmikantha, H% 2$$#% Re+ort on waste dum+ sites around !angalore% /aste 0anagement%
2#% #E$2#"$%
0orgenstern, R%-% 1CC1% Towards a Com+rehensi)e ,++roach to Dlobal Climate Change
0itigation% The ,merican &conomic Re)iew% 31627% 1CC1% 1E$21E"
Nunan, G% 2$$$% .rban organic waste markets' res+onding to change in Hubli2-harwad, ndia%
Habitat nternational% 2E% 5E125#$%
8atel, ,%H % 2$$5%
htt+'<<1E%12"%1"5%152<searchP
9Qcache'sa.d&GsTFCw4'www%almitra+atel%com<docs<25$%docN/,ST&N-S8KS,HNN
N!,ND,HKR&N2$$5,N,lmitraN+atelAcdQ1AhlQenActQclnkAglQinAclientQfirefoB2a
Rahman !%,%, Sab D%0% and Chanakya H%N% 2$$C% Small Town Solid /aste 0anagement' ,
Case Study of Sirugu++a, Farnataka% 1st nternational Conference on Solid /aste
0anagement and &Bhibition on 0unici+al Ser)ices, .rban -e)elo+ment, 8ublic /orks,
conS/0 2$$C, Folkata, ndia%
Ra?aba+aiah, 8% 1C33% &nergy from !angalore garbage2 , +reliminary study% ,STR, technical
re+ort, CST% !angalore%
T-& 6Technology nformatics -esign &ndea)our7% 2$$$% &nergy reco)ery from munici+al solid
wastes in around !angalore% Technical re+ort% !angalore%
Van !Rkering 8% 1CCE% ,n economic analysis of different ty+es of formal and informal
entre+reneurs, reco)ering urban solid waste in !angalore 6ndia7% 12% 22C22"2%
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