Citizen's Engagement in a Decentralized Wet Waste Management Approach

Waste management is a global challenge.

- Chandreyee Mitra, Mohammed Idris, and Jai Kumar Gaurav

The present article authored by Chandreyee Mitra, Mohammed Idris, and Jai Kumar Gaurav makes us aware of a unique wet waste management approach. The trio presents Bengaluru as a case study that demonstrates how in order to reduce the burden of unscientific handling of large volumes of municipal solid waste the city has opted to shift from a centralized single stream collection and landfill disposal system to a decentralized multiple stream collection and scientific processing system.

Waste management is a critical challenge in India, driven by rapid urbanization, increasing waste generation, diverse waste types, limited space for processing facilities, constrained financial resources, and inadequate infrastructure. According to Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, India generates 161,919 tonnes per day (TPD) of municipal solid waste and 80% is being processed. Inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment, and disposal have become major causes for environmental and public health concerns in the country.

Karnataka with its growing population and rapid urbanization has been facing drastic increase in per capita waste. About 11,044 TPD of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated in the state, of which 50-55% is wet/organic waste, 30-35% is dry waste, and 10-20% is construction and demolition (C&D), and inert wastes. By 2031, the MSW generation in Bengaluru alone is projected to exceed 13,000 TPD.

Current Situation: solid waste management of Bengaluru