Waste management is a group effort that includes waste segregation, collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal. Improper waste management is a major source of pollution in the environment. In India, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change are in charge of waste regulation and management. One of the ministry’s main activities is pollution prevention and control, and it has issued numerous rules over the years to ensure a clean environment by safely handling and disposing of waste. The Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board ensure that the MoEFCC’s rules are followed.
Waste is classified into three types based on its origin and composition: municipal, industrial, and hazardous waste. For the safe processing and disposal of diverse forms of trash, specific laws and compliances must be observed. Cities are well-known sources of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and India has one of the world’s largest landfills at Ghazipur. Ideally, landfills must adhere to severe standards to avoid contaminating the soil, land, and air in and around their proximity. The majority of biomedical waste is non-infectious and is treated as MSW. Hazardous and infectious biological waste, on the other hand, should not be combined with other garbage and should be processed in separate facilities.
India currently accounts for around 18% of the world’s population and 12% of worldwide municipal solid garbage output. With India’s population steadily increasing, trash creation in the country is predicted to skyrocket in the next decades. As a result, its administration faces difficulties. Even though many cities have door-to-door garbage pickups, India’s ill-equipped sorting and disposal facilities make it inefficient. In 2016, the MoEFCC introduced the Integrated Waste Management System, as well as an end-to-end app, as part of the government’s effort to digitize the economy.
In India, waste recovery and recycling are important.
Waste recovery is an important component of trash management since it decreases the waste volume and keeps landfills from being overburdened. The informal recycling business contributes significantly to trash management and provides employment possibilities for persons from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. With rising levels of electronic and plastic waste, it is critical to promote recovery while adhering to the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle. For efficient trash management, community engagement had developed in several places across the country. Waste was being reduced at the source as public knowledge and engagement increased in recent years, and residents were becoming more ecologically concerned.
The government launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, a nationwide drive to clean up streets, roads, and infrastructure in cities, towns, and rural regions. The mission was implemented for five years beginning in 2014. Citizens were more likely to participate in the waste management solution as a result of this. However, during an annual Swachh Bharat poll, it was shown that the majority of residents saw a lack of commitment by municipalities.