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RECYCLING AND PROCESSING OF WASTE: NEEDS OF THE TIME

Article  in  SSRN Electronic Journal · February 2021

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 RECYCLING AND PROCESSING OF WASTE: NEEDS OF THE TIME
Dr. Bhumika Das* and Dr. D. P. Kuity*
Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University**
bhumikadas777@gmail.com kuitydurgapada3@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION
“Solid waste” is the term now used internationally to describe non-liquid waste materials arising
from domestic, trade, commercial, industrial, agriculture and mining activities and from the
public services. Solid waste comprise countless different materials such as vegetable waste,
papers, glass, plastics, wood, yard clippings, food waste, radioactive wastes and hazardous
waste. Solid wastes are all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are normally
solids, semi-solids, liquids in containers and those are discarded or useless or unwanted. The
term encompasses the heterogeneous accumulation of (Rao, 1991) agricultural, industrial and
mineral wastes etc.Solid waste generation is a continually growing problem at global, regional
and local levels. There has been a significant increase in municipal solid waste generation in
India in the last few decades. The volume of garbage in Indian cities is increasing. Solid wastes
create one of the most visible environmental problems in our country. The management of
municipal solid waste has become an acute problem due to rapid population growth and
economic development in the country. In recent, the quantity of municipal solid waste has been
increasing rapidly with growing urbanization and modern lifestyle and its composition changing.
One of the serious and growing potential problems in larger urban areas is the shortage of land
for waste disposal.

Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh, is located near the centre of a large plain, referred as
the “Rice Bowl of India” – where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown – and is also the
biggest city of the region. With a population of over 1.2 million, the total quantum of municipal
solid waste generated in Raipur is approx. 600 tons per day.The Raipur Municipal Corporation
works in accordance with the citizens of Raipur so that all the general requirements can be
resolved with ease. Starting from maintaining the infrastructure to look after the civic
requirements, Raipur Municipal Corporation is taking all the necessary steps. Raipur Municipal

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 Corporation is taking use of the latest and innovative means of technology to make all the
processing of work online. The municipal commissioner of Raipur is even taking the initiative of
informing the citizens of Raipur about the work related to Raipur Municipal Corporation that can
now be performed online.To protect environment and to effectively manage waste Raipur
Municipal Corporation has entrusted the task of handling Integrated City Sanitation and
Municipal Solid Waste Management to a Bangalore based private firm Kivar Environ Private
Limited (A Kivar Group Enterprise). Raipur Waste Management Private Limited (RWMPL) the
Special Purpose Vehicle set up for the implementation of Integrated City Sanitation and
Municipal Solid Waste Management Project in Raipur. A truly integrated scheme and a first of
its kind in the country, this Design, Build, Operated, Finance and Transfer project is based on
Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Following the formal launch of Collection and Transportation operations, RWMPL commences
its 30-year long service commitment to provide a wide gamut of services comprising city
sanitation, primary and secondary collection of waste, engineering, construction, operation and
maintenance of waste processing facility and scientifically engineered sanitary landfill facility.
Along with this, RWMPL would also manage the post-closure monitoring of the landfill. Design,
Engineering, Construction, Operation & Maintenance of scientifically engineered sanitary
landfill facility. There are several methods of waste management and some of the most common
methods are as follows:
Landfills: Throwing away waste and garbage in landfills is the most common method of waste
disposal. In this process, the odors and dangers of the garbage are eliminated. The garbage is
then buried on the landfill sites. Landfills are also the cause of global warming which is why
many countries are reconsidering the use of landfills.
Incineration: In this method, municipal solid wastes are buried to convert them into residue, heat,
ash, steam and gases. It reduces the volume of solid waste by 30% of the real volume.
Recycling: It is the process in which discarded items are recycled for reuse. The waste materials
are recycled to extract resources or convert into energies in the form of electricity, heat or fuel.
Composting: It is a bio-degradation process in which the organic waste i.e. remains of plants and
kitchen waste are converted into nutrient rich food for plants. Composting is the method used for
organic-farming that also improves the fertility of soil.
Anaerobic Digestion: It is also the process that decomposes organic materials through biological

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 processes. It uses oxygen and bacteria-free environment for decomposing. Composting requires
air to aid the growth of microbes.
Waste to Energy: In this process, non-recyclable waste is converted into energy sources such heat,
fuel or electricity. This is the renewable source of energy as non-recyclable waste can be used to
create energy again and again.
Waste Minimization: The simplest method of waste management is to create less waste. Waste
reduction can be done by you and me by reducing the waste creation and recycling and reusing
the old materials. Using eco-friendly products and reducing the use of plastic, paper, etc. is vital.
Community participation has a direct impact on waste management system.

Gasification and Pyrolysis: These two methods are used to decompose organic waste materials by
exposing it to low amount of oxygen and high temperature. No oxygen is used in the process of
pyrolysis and very low amount of oxygen is used in process of gasification. Gasification is the
most advantageous process as no air pollution is created to recover energy by burning process.
2. LITRETURE REVIEW

Cherian, Jacob, (2012), have found in their research paper that various socio economic factors
cost effectiveness, willingness to pay gets affected by the models used for waste management in,
“Management Models of Municipal Solid Waste: A review focusing on socio-economic factors.
Community driven model brings public participation in waste handling program through primary
segregation. Corporation driven models are cost incursive. Kaushal, Varghese, Chabukdhara,
(2012) have showed in their research paper about the worried situation towards rapid increase in
waste generation due to urbanization in, “Municipal Solid Waste Management in India – Current
state and future challenges: A review,” with the help of trend analysis the major concern is on
increasing per capita waste generation and the heaps of garbage dumped unscientifically easily
found in the outskirts of the city from various decades. Mountains of garbage are polluting
ground water level through leachate. Due to excessive heat generated because of dumping and
emission of harmful gases creates air pollution. Acres of land decrease the aesthetic of town’s
high ways. Yakubu (2013), A survey was conducted with 12 structured questions to access the
household satisfaction against the waste management services rendered by ULBs to them. It has
found that householders are largely satisfied with collection frequency and types of vehicles
used, protective clothes used by workers. Moderately satisfied with Solid Waste Management
Company rendering services and highly dissatisfied with the regular monitoring and prompt

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 response to their complaint in the research paper, “Householders’ satisfaction towards solid
waste collection services of Zoomilion Ghana Ltd. In Wa, Ghana.” Kaushal, Varghese,
Chabukdhara, (2012) have showed in their research paper about the worried situation towards
rapid increase in waste generation due to urbanization in, “Municipal Solid Waste Management
in India – Current state and future challenges: A review,” with the help of trend analysis the
major concern is on increasing per capita waste generation and the heaps of garbage dumped
unscientifically easily found in the outskirts of the city from various decades. Mountains of
garbage are polluting ground water level through leachate. Due to excessive heat generated
because of dumping and emission of harmful gases creates air pollution. Acres of land
decrease the aesthetic of town’s high ways.

3 NEED OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste management is the overall process of collection, transportation, treatment and discarding
of waste products, sewage and garbage. It also includes other legal, monitoring, recycling and
regulating activities,There are many forms of waste such as solid, gas or liquid and each has
different process of disposal and management. Waste management manages different types of
waste created by industries, household, commercial activities or natural waste. Large segment of
waste management deals with municipal solid waste i.e. the waste created by industries, housing
and commercial establishments.The general concepts of waste management are waste hierarchy,
that includes three approaches that are reduce, reuse and recycle. Second is life cycle of product
that includes designing, producing, distributing followed by the 3 R’s of waste hierarchy. The
third concept is resource efficiency that focuses on efficient use of resources. And the fourth
concept is polluter-pay principle where the polluter-party i.e. one who generates waste has to pay
for the impact caused to the environment. However, waste management carried on in developing
and developed countries, cities and villages varies.

Others factors are-

1. Keeps the environment clean: The process of waste management helps keep the environment
clean though we all as individuals need to participate in keeping our surroundings clean to
achieve the goal. Waste management units work to collect the garbage and waste materials from
public areas and transport to the landfill sites and other disposal units for its disposal. The odor
and gases from the garbage are eliminated before disposal thus the whole process results in

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 keeping the environment clean.
2. Conserves energy: The process of waste management includes recycling. Recycling of the
products helps in reducing the production of new products and raw materials. Recycling also
helps conserve energy as the process of recycling utilizes less energy.
3. Reduce air pollution: Waste management helps reduce pollution and global warming. It reduces
the intensity of gases like carbon dioxide and methane emitted from waste.

4. Generate employment opportunities: Huge amount of manpower is needed in all the sections of
waste management. From collection to the final stage of disposal there are several job
opportunities in waste management sectors.
5. Sustainable use of resources: Minimum use of energy and resources is planned in the process of
waste management. The waste management concept life-cycle of the product aims the efficient
use of resources.
6. Health: Exposure to waste can effect human health and cause several diseases. Waste
management activities include collecting the waste from the landfills around us and transporting
to the areas where the waste can be disposed in a safe manner saving us from several health
hazards.
7. Inter-generational Equity: Effective waste management practices will provide following
generations strong economy and clean environment.

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4. CLASSIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE

Based on the source and type of waste, the classification of municipal solid waste: Domestic/
Residential Waste -Domestic waste includes the solid wastes that originate during the household
activities such as cleaning, packaging, gardening, cooking and repairs. The waste material consists
of old books, empty containers, old furniture and newspaper.

Fig- 4.1 Domestic/Residential Waste

Municipal Waste - Municipal waste includes the waste materials arising from the domestic,
institutional and commercial activities. The municipal waste comprises of dead animals, dried
leaves, crushed vehicles, market waste, street waste and crushed vehicles.

Fig- 4.2 Municipal Waste

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Commercial Waste- The waste materials included in the category of commercial waste are
classified as garbage, rubbish, organic, inorganic, and hazardous waste and are arisen in
departmental stores, offices, hotels, shops, lodges, restaurants, business centers, warehouses,
markets, slaughter houses and other commercial establishments. The waste materials comprise of
paper, spoiled and discarded goods and packing material.

Fig- 4.3 Commercial Waste

Institutional Waste - The waste materials included in the category of institutional waste are
those arising from institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, research institutes, hospitals
and other educational centers. It includes waste materials such as garbage and rubbish in which
some of the waste materials are harmful to human health and the environment.

Garbage -The garbage includes the animal and vegetable waste and the waste is putrescible in
nature. It consists of wastes resulting from the sale, handling, storage, cooking and consumption
of food. It requires immediate removal of waste handling, storage and disposal. Because the
waste produces foul odors and the waste attracts the insects, flies, rats and rodents.

Fig-4.4 Garbage
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Rubbish - This includes the waste materials which are non-putrescible in nature except ash. It
consists of both combustible such as paper, brushes, cardboard and wood, and noncombustible
substances such as cans, glass and scrap metals, etc.
Ash – It is a result of activities such as the burning of dung, wood, coal and other combustible
materials for heating, cooking and other purposes in houses, small industrial establishments and
institutions. When the huge amount of ash produced in factories and power plants will come
under industrial waste.

Fig- 4.5 Ash

Bulky Waste - Bulky waste comprise of tyres, furniture, refrigerators, cookers, vehicle parts,
trees, plastic materials, washing machines, wood etc., arising during the household activities
which cannot be stored in the containers of houses.

Street Waste - Street waste includes the wastes that are collected from parks, streets, walkways
and vacant places. The street waste comprises of plastic, dried leaves, paper, empty cigarette
packs and other empty packets, cardboard and dust. Mostly in developing countries, the littering
of public places is a common problem and in the developing countries manual street sweeping
has seen whereas in developed countries mechanized street sweeping is practiced.
Dead Animals – These are divided into large animals and small animals that die naturally or
accidentally killed. The large animals are donkeys, cows, sheep and horses which require
immediate removal using special equipment for handling. Small animals are rats, cats, dogs and
rabbits. This category of animals can be disposed by deep burial in special locations. Otherwise,
dead animals attract the flies, insects and causes foul odor and health problems.
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Construction and Demolition Waste - These categories of wastes are generated during the
activities such as construction, demolition of commercial buildings, houses and other structures.
The construction and demolition waste materials such as bricks, plumbing materials, concrete,
plastics, stones, heating systems, roofing materials and electrical wires etc.

Industrial Waste - The waste materials resulting from the manufacturing processes and other
operations from the industries are included in the industrial waste category. This waste should
not be mixed with the municipal solid waste because the waste materials arising from the
industries may be hazardous and non-hazardous.

Fig-4.6 Industrial Waste

Biomedical Waste - The biomedical waste is the waste that is generated during the diagnosis,
treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining thereto
or in the production or testing of biological components The biomedical waste should be
disposed by following the Bio Medical Waste (Management & Handling).

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Fig-4.7 Biomedical Waste

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 6. METHODOLOGY
In order to establish effective solid waste management in the
affected area the following process should be used:

Identify the types of waste

Identify the sources of waste

Determine the potential health hazards from waste

Determine the volume of waste generated

Identify safe collection method/s

Identify safe transportation method/s

Identify safe disposal method/s

Fig-6.1 Flow chart of Method SWM

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Communal bins or containers are designed to collect waste where it will not be
dispersed by wind or animals, and where it can easily be removed for transportation
and disposal. Plastic containers are generally inappropriate since these may be
blown over by the wind, can easily be removed and may be desirable for alternative
uses. A popular solution is to provide oil drums cut in half . The bases of these
should be perforated to allow liquid to pass out and to prevent their use for other
purposes. A lid and handles can be provided if necessary.

Fig- 6.2 Communal bins

In general, a single 100-litre bin should be provided for every fifty people in
domestic areas, every one hundred people at feeding centres and every ten market stalls. In

12
general, bins should be emptied daily.

Advantages: Bins are potentially a highly hygienic and sanitary management method; and
final disposal of waste well away from dwelling areas.

Constraints: Significant collection, transportation and human resources are required; sys-
tem takes time to implement; and efficient management is essential.

Family bins - Family bins are rarely used in emergency situations since they require an
intensive collection and transportation system and the number of containers or bins required
is likely to be huge.
In the later stages of an emergency, however, community members can be encouraged to
make their own refuse baskets or pots and to take responsibility to empty these at communal
pits or depots.

Advantages: Families are responsible for maintaining collection containers; and potentially
a highly sanitary management method.

Constraints: In general, the number of bins required is too large; significant collection,
transportation and human resources are required; takes time to implement; and efficient
management essential.

Communal disposal without bins -For some public institutions, such as markets or
distribution centres, solid waste manage- ment systems without bins can be implemented,
whereby users dispose of waste directly onto the ground. This can only work if cleaners are
employed to regularly sweep around market stalls, gather waste together and transport it to a
designated off-site disposal site. This is likely to be appropriate for vegetable waste but
slaughterhouse waste should be disposed of in liquid-tight containers and buried separately.

Advantages: System rapid to implement; there is minimal reliance on actions of users; and it
may be in line with traditional/usual practice.

Constraints: Requires efficient and effective management; and full-time waste workers

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 must be employed.

Transportation options -Where bins or collection containers require emptying,

transportation to the final disposal point is required. As described, waste transportation
methods may be human-powered, animal- powered or motorised.

Human-powered
Wheelbarrows are ideal for the transportation of waste around small sites such as markets but are
rarely appropriate where waste must be transported considerable distances off-site. Handcarts
provide a better solution for longer distances since these can carry significantly more waste and
can be pushed by more than one person. Carts may be open or can be fitted with several
containers or bins.

Animal-powered
Animal-powered transportation means such as a horse or donkey with cart are likely to be
appropriate where they are commonly used locally. This may be ideal for transportation to
middle distance sites

Motorised
Where the distance to the final disposal site is great, or where the volume of waste to be
transported is high, the use of a motorised vehicle may be the only appropriate option. Options
include tractor and trailer, a standard truck, or a tipper-truck, the final choice depending largely
on availability and speed of procurement.

For large volumes of waste it may sometimes be appropriate to have a two-stage transporta- tion
system requiring a transfer station. For example, waste is transported by handcart to a transfer
station where it is loaded into a truck to be taken to an off-site disposal site several kilometres
away.

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The patent literature is rife with disposal containers for solid waste but this are actually storage
containers for temporary isolation of the waste for human worker .(Disposal refer to long-term and
presumably permanent resting place for waste.) storage is of concern to the waste manager, too,
and vendors provide a wide variety of option for containers. Your stage govt. still might have
something to say about storage but the containers on the market usually are acceptable to them.

Operation procedures for you business should specify the maximum time you intend to store on
site on site. If you know how fast your waste is generate and how often it gets taken on off-site
will be able to determine the volume and type of storage needed.

8. CONCLUSION

Solid waste management involves interplay of six functional elements, namely generation of waste,
storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and recovery and disposal. It encompasses
planning, organization, administration, financial, legal and technological aspects involving
interdisciplinary relationships. Solid waste management includes all activities that seek to
minimize the health, environmental and aesthetic impacts of solid wastes. Raipur may still be
lower in ranks in terms of per capita waste generation. The scenario can be changed only if the
attitude of the people towards solid waste management changes. The Indian constitution has many
laws and regulations for management of solid waste, but people are not aware of these. Awareness
needs to be created at grass root level to improve the situation. These awareness programs should
not be only linked with holding of seminars and workshops where similar people meet. Such
programs should have active components of action taken while awareness gets created.
Involvement with action will provide the sustainability to the MSW good practices. Good
governance concepts will emerge from there.Values of water quality parameters examined for the
water samples from wells in proximity of the MSW dumping sites are found to be higher as
compared to the parameter values of samples collected away from the dumping sites. Similar effect
is noticed for all MSW dumping sites. The effect on ground water found to be depending on the
distance of well from the dumping site. The extent of ground water pollution decreases with
increase in the distance of well from the dumping site. During percolation of leachate through soil,
its characteristics changes due to physical, chemical and biological forces before it contaminates
the ground water hence the distance is important. In comparison to open wells and shallow tube
wells the quality of water from deep tube wells are found to be better. It is recommended that no
human settlement should be allowed up to a minimum distance of 100m from MSW dumping sites.

9. FUTURE SCOPE

This research has some limitations too. In this section the limitations of this research and some
suggestions for future work are presented. As applicable to other empirical studies in the area of
solid waste management, this research covers only select issues as related to the denizens of the
Class I cities which represent a small segment of the vast population of India. The responses to
15
the questionnaire reflect only the perception of the individuals who have filled the questionnaire
and cannot be generalized. Since he study primarily covers the Class I cities, this could limit the
findings as these cities work under similar type of political, economic, and social environment.
Another major limitation of the study is the limited understanding of the psyche of the people
impacted by a scheme of SWM. The concept is yet to take roots in India, though some work has
been undertaken at a very small scale. The framework for the assessment of psychology towards
the solid wastes per se may differ from geographical region, economic strata etc. There is an
urgent need to carry out such more studies to arrive at better options for the management of solid
wastes. Since the study conducted has been done in metropolitan area, it is may be subjective
and the attitudes of the people are from the same geographical region of the country, thereby
limiting the generalization of the results. In this research, prioritization of the factors related to
MSW and infectious waste contractors has been carried out, but some of these frameworks are
not evaluated for actual practical settings. So it is suggested that these models may be further
verified in real-life settings with the help of the experts. Also, for the sake of simplicity all the
subsystems and subsystems associated with all the variables haven't been considered. In future
work, various subsystems and sub-subsystems can be delineated and then their impact be taken
into account to develop a more comprehensive model. Further, comparative data can be
generated to benchmark various kinds of solid waste management schemes from different
geographical areas to understand the various factors and interactions among the enablers/
barriers in a SWM plan in the different settings; and to understand and predict the potential
success of a waste management plan with the community participation. Krazzy-AHP has been
used to develop a priority scale of the factors that may ameliorate certain approaches to the
SWM on part of the decision-makers. Since, the method used has been with an assumption of
independency the priority developed may change, while making selections and executing the
scheme in actual scenario. Moreover, there may certain biases and human errors exist, so it is
required to capture and understand all the interdependencies etc among the factors through
additional model refinement. The ANP framework has been used to find out the best alternative
to dispose the MSW and select the best available infectious waste contractor, the future research
could target upon carrying out sensitivity analysis of the model. Also, this framework was tested
for a medium sized hospital and Class I city so future work can take data from other size of the
hospitals and cities.

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 REFERENCES

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[2] APHA-AWWA-WPCF, 1989. Standard Methods for Examination of Water and

Wastewater, 17th Ed., Washington, D.C.

[3] Khan, F.R. 2001. Study of Ground Water Pollution. M. Tech. thesis, Department of
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[4] Marian, O. B. and Benson, E.B. 1999. Waste management and water pollution. 25th
WEDC Conference on Integrated Development for Water Supply and Sanitation, Addis
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[5] Zurbrugg, C. 2002. Urban Solid Waste Management in Low Income Countries of Asia
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