STATUS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN KERALA AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

Transcription

1 STATUS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN KERALA AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS Dr. R. Ajaykumar Varma Executive Director, Suchitwa Mission Introduction The rapid urbanization, constant change in consumption pattern and social behaviour have increased the of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Kerala beyond the assimilative of capacity of our environment and management capacity of the existing waste management systems. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity of improved planning and implementation of comprehensive MSW management systems for upgrading the environmental scenario of the State. It requires detailed information on the quantity and character of MSW generated and their physical and chemical properties. This is to evolve appropriate waste management strategy based on the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle and design appropriate collection, transportation, processing and disposal system. It requires reliable data on quantity and quality of MSW generated in the State. Therefore, an attempt is made here to present the details of available data on the quantity and character of MSW generated at various parts of the State for planning further studies on the aspect. Database on MSW Generally, data on the quantity of MSW is maintained by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). This is generated based on the quantity of waste collected and transported on a day to day basis, based on the number of trips made or on approximation based on guesstimates. Normally, there is no practice of weighing the MSW or measurement of its volume while transportation. Therefore, the data has very little authenticity (SEUF, 2006). Based on the studies carried out by the Centre for Earth Science Studies and data compiled by the Clean Kerala Mission for all the Municipalities and Corporations of the State, the average daily per capita comes to kg with a very high variation from kg for Koothuparamba to kg for Thalassery (CESS, 2001; Padmalal & Maya, 2002; Varma & Dileepkumar, 2004). This is due to the fact that the quantification of from different types of sources has not been done in any of the ULBs by direct

2 method of source wise sample surveys or by indirect method of assessing collected waste, uncollected quantities and that separated for recycling and reuse. The studies carried out by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Indian cities have revealed that quantum of MSW varies between kg/capita/day in the urban centres and it goes up to 0.5 kg/capita/day in large cities (NEERI, 1996). Considering this, the waste in the Municipalities of Kerala can be taken as a minimum of 0.21 kg/capita/day with an increment due to the increasing trend of waste and that the estimate was that of The studies conducted by the Urban Development Section (East Asia and Pacific Region) of the World Bank, considering the relation between GNP and per capita waste, indicated that the rate of waste Magnitude of waste sources is estimated to 19.6 Domestic Commercial grow at an exponential rate of 1.41 per cent per annum. 9.5 Community halls Hotels Therefore, the present Markets minimum of 12.4 Institutions Street Hospitals MSW can be considered as around kg/head/day Slaughter hse Accordingly, the daily Construction 2.4 MSW in the 22.8 Municipalities of the State as per the norms derived is given in Table 1. However, amendments are necessary in some special cases such as Guruvayoor, where about 35,000 pilgrims reaches on a day to day basis, which goes up to 50,000 per day during the festival seasons. The of MSW by the Guruvayoor Temple is reported be 3.30 tons/day and that of elephant dung and elephant food is 7.80 tons. Therefore, these need to be added to that estimated using the norm derived. Similar amendments are required for various urban centres. Therefore, considering the data provided in Table 1 as first approximation value, each Municipality need to make its own assessment of the quantity of waste generated which is one of the crucial basic data for developing a MSW

3 management programme. It is also necessary to estimate the waste generated at different sources of a region for planning and undertaking effective management of MSW at respective sources, as far as possible. Accordingly, the Kerala State Urban Development Project generated data on the quantum of municipal MSW generated from different source in four City Corporations of Kerala by engaging consultants with specific terms of references based on standard protocols (Information from KSUDP, 2006). The MSW generated in four Corporations, estimated based on direct method, is given in Table 2. Based on this, the magnitude of waste generating sources is given in pie chart. It indicates that most dominant sources to be addressed for waste management are domestic sources, commercial areas, hotels, streets and markets. Considering these estimates, the total MSW in the entire state, estimated based on the population figure of 2001 and projected for the year 2006 is given in Table 3. A portion of the MSW generated will be collected by rag pickers for recycling and reuse. There will also be source level disposal, especially in areas where the population density is low. It is estimated that in urban areas, it works out to be about 10 to 15%. Physical composition of MSW The physical composition of MSW is important for deciding the prime management actions namely the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste. The physical composition of MSWs at the collection point and dumping sites, as reported by the KSUDP, is given in Table 4. It indicates that in the major cities of the State, around 80% of the waste is compostable organics enabling high level of recycling in the form of manure or fuel. The physical composition of wastes are also reported from other Municipalities by CESS (2001), Padmalal & Maya (2001) etc., which is given in Table 5. These data also indicate the dominance of compostable waste in the State indicating the high possibility of productive use of wastes. Chemical composition of MSW The chemical characterization of waste is important to understand the utilization as well as the pollution potential of the waste. The chemical composition of MSW from four major

4 cities of the state as reported by the KSUDP is given in Table 6. It indicates high moisture content, low calorific value and high nutrient content making the dominant organic fraction of waste more conducive for recycling in the form of manure. The data reported from other towns by CESS (2001), Padmalal & Maya (2001) also indicate a similar pattern in the chemical composition (Table 7). One of the notable features of the chemical characteristics of waste is the high content of heavy metals (Table 8; Table 9). It indicates that dumping of waste will lead to metallic pollution of land, especially if the waste is subjected to putrefaction. Conclusion Though there is appreciable data on the of MSW, they are generated based on different approaches. However, they play a major role for planning and implementing comprehensive MSW management programmes as stipulated in the MSW (Management & Handling) Rules, The protocol adopted for data do not find tallying in many cases. This has implication on determining the quantum and quality of MSW at source as well as processing site. The data generated for the four Corporations, Kollam, Cochin, Thrissur and Kozhikkode is found to be based on a systematic protocol. Such a data practice is important for planning foolproof MSW management system. Table 1. Municipal Solid Waste Generation as per the norms Standard Norms Sl. No Name of Municipality Population 2001 MSW tonnes/day Sl. No Name of Municipality Population 2001 MSW tonnes/day 1 Alappuzha Iringalakuda Kottayam Kudungallur Chenganassery Shornur Aluva Malappuram Palakkad Manjeri Kannur Perinthalmanna Thalassery Kanchangad Thuruvalla Nedumangad Perumbavoor Varkala Thirur Paravur (South) Vadakara Adoor Kasaragod Mavelikkara

5 13 Neyattinkata Chengannur Attingal Vikom Punallor Kalamassery Pathanamthitta Chavakkad Kayamkulam Guruvayoor Cherthala Cittoor Thathamangalam 19 Pala Otapalam Thodupuzha Ponnani Kothamangalam Kalpatta Muvattupuzha Payannur Kunnamkulam Koothuparambu North Paravur Thaliparambu Thrippunithura Quilandy Angamaly Mattannur Chalakudy Total (AfterNEERI, 1996; Varma& Dileep, 2004; SEUF, 2006) Table 2. Municipal Solid Waste estimated based on direct sampling Sl. MSW Generation sources Quantum of MSW Generation (tonnes/day) No Kollam Kochi Thrissur Kozhikkode 1 Domestic sources Commercial establishments Marriage & Community Halls Hotel & Restaurent Markets Institutions/Schools, Offices Street sweepings Hospitals (Non-infectious) Slaughter house Construction & demolition Total Per capita (g/day/head) Table 3. Waste Generation scenario in Kerala in Corporations 53 Municipalities 999 Panchayats Population 2001 Percapita waste (g) Tot Waste (tonnes/day) Projected population 2006 Projected waste (g) Total waste 2006 (tonnes/day)

6 Total Waste Generation in Kerala Table 4. Physical composition of MSW at collection point and dumping site Type of MSW Kollam Kochi Thrissur Kozhikkode Collection Dump Collection Dump Collection Dump Collection Dump point site point site point site point site Paper Plastic Metals Glass Rubber & Leather Inerts Ash & fine earth Compostable organics Domestic hazardous Table 5. Physical composition of MSW from different townships of Kerala Composition Chenganassernthapuram Kottayam Kannur Aluva Thiruvana- Average Paper Plastic Metals Glass Rubber & Leather Compostable organics Others-Textiles, Inerts & domestic hazardous Sl. No. (After Padmalal et al., 2002; Rep. Capital City Development Project for Thiruvananthapuram, 2003; SEUF, 2007) Table 6. Chemical characteristics of MSW at the dumping sites of major cities Locartion/area Density (Kg/m 3 ) Moisture Content Calorific Value (K.Cal/kg) ph C N C/N P as P Kollam Kochi Thrissur Kozhikkode Average

7 Sl. No. Table 7. Chemcial characterisitcs of MSW from various townships of Kerala Locartion/area Density Moisture (Kg/m 3 ) Content Calorific Value (K.Cal/kg) ph Organic Matter C N C/N P as P K K 2 O 1 Changanasseri Chengannur Muvattupuzha Pala Kottayam Alappuzha Kothamangalam Aluva Kannur Average (After CESS, 2001; Padmalal et al., 2002;; SEUF, 2006) Table 8. Heavy metal content in MSW at the dumping sites of major cities in Kerala location Ar Mg/kg Mn Ni Cd Pb Cr Cu Zn Hg Mg/kg Kollam <0.1 Kochi <0.1 Thrissur <0.1 Kozhikkode <0.1 Average <0.1 Table 9. Heavy metal content in MSW from various townships of Kerala location Fe % Mn Ni Cd Pb Cr Cu Zn Changanasseri Chengannur Muvattupuzha Pala Kottayam Alappuzha Kannur Average (After CESS, 2001; Padmalal et al., 2002;; SEUF, 2006)