Challenges posed by Urban Solid Waste in Metropolitan Planning
- One of the major problems faced in Metropolitan Planning is the Solid waste segregation problem. Neither at the level of the household nor at the community, there is any coordinated and scientifically designed segregation of Urban Solid Waste. Garbage sorting is primarily carried out by the unorganized sector and rarely is it done by waste producers. The unorganized sector segregates only valuable discarded elements, making segregation and sorting extremely dangerous and harmful processes with a poor level of effectiveness.
- Nearly every city, town, and hamlet in India adopted an illogical method for disposing of Urban Solid Waste.
- Landfill management problems: Violations of the laws governing the site of landfills, the installation of security measures such as compound walls, CCTV cameras, firefighting tools, and water tanks, and the regularization of rag pickers. Also, the burning of landfill sites affects health and air quality as they release methane gas. Many of these landfills have been operating past the designated deadline. With urban growth comes the need to reclaim old landfills and find new locations.
- The scarcity of information about garbage makes it difficult to find solutions that are suitable for the specific types of waste that are generated in a certain area.
- India is currently battling to build a successful waste-to-energy plant. Importing economically viable and tested technologies is necessary. In addition, the garbage that has been appropriately classified and separated must be sent to waste-to-energy facilities in accordance with their needs.
- Lack of coordination between the Center and the State is another big problem. The lack of coordination for a defined action plan and a weak strategy at the execution level by ULBs.
- Urbanization and a lack of adequate funding have led to most dump sites in major cities becoming overfilled. It is made worse by a lack of funding to address the waste management issue. Due to a lack of funding, ULBs lack the infrastructure needed to offer effective solutions.
Urban Solid Waste Management and its Challenges
In urban India, solid waste management (SWM) has become one of the biggest development challenges. Numerous studies show that improper waste disposal produces hazardous gases and leachates as a result of microbial decomposition, environmental factors, and land-filling practices. India produces more than 150,000 tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) each day, with Mumbai ranking as the fifth most wasteful city in the world. However, only 83% of waste is collected, and only 30% of that is processed. A key component of sustainable Metropolitan growth is Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM). To reduce its damaging effects on the environment, solid waste is separated, stored, collected, moved, transported, processed, and disposed of. Unmanaged MSW contributes to the spread of a wide range of illnesses.