GS3 PYQ (Mains Answer Writing): Solid Waste Management | Environment for UPSC CSE PDF Download

What are the impediments in disposing the huge quantities of discarded solid wastes which are continuously being generated? How do we remove safely the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment? (UPSC MAINS GS3 )

Solid wastes are the abandoned or discarded materials i.e. any garbage, discarded materials including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations.
Impediments in disposing the huge quantities of discarded solid wastes: 

• The current status of solid waste management (SWM) in India is poor because the best and most appropriate methods from waste collection to disposal are not being used. 
• There is a lack of training in SWM and the availability of qualified waste management professionals is limited. 
• Municipal authorities are responsible for managing municipal solid waste (MSW) in India but have insufficient budgets to cover the costs associated with developing proper waste collection, storage, treatment and disposal. 
• The lack of strategic MSW plans, waste collection/segregation and a government finance regulatory framework are major barriers to achieving effective SWM in India. 
• Limited environmental awareness combined with low motivation has inhibited innovation and the adoption of new technologies that could transform waste management in India. 
• Public attitudes to waste are also a major barrier to improving SWM in India. 

Treatment and disposal of solid waste 

• Sanitary landfills: Sanitary landfill is more hygienic and built in a methodical manner to solve the problem of leaching. These are lined with materials that are impermeable such as plastics and clay, and are also built over impermeable soil. 
• Incineration plants: The process of burning waste in large furnaces at high temperature is known as incineration. In these plants the recyclable material is segregated and the rest of the material is burnt and ash is produced. 
• Pyrolysis: It is a process of combustion in absence of oxygen or the material burnt under controlled atmosphere of oxygen. It is an alternative to incineration. The gas and liquid thus obtained can be used as fuels. 
• Composting: Composting is a biological process in which micro-organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria, decompose degradable organic waste into humus like substance in the presence of oxygen. 
• Vermiculture: In this, Earth worms are added to the compost. These worms break the waste and the added excreta of the worms make the compost very rich in nutrients. 
• Four R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 

Topics Covered- Solid Waste Management