Solid Waste Management Practices in the Jammu & Kashmir Towns - A Case Study of Kupwara Town of North Kashmir

Generation of municipal solid wastes has been increasing throughout irrespective of its nature and locations. Besides cities, growing towns, peripheral urban and rural areas are also facing the challenges of solid waste generation and proper management. The entire Kashmir valley is facing extreme challenges with regard to waste management and Kupwara town is no exception. Our main objectives include studying about generation and current waste management practices in Kupwara town and to conduct SPSS modelling of waste. A door-to-door survey was conducted followed by direct measurement of waste using a weighing balance. More waste is produced during summer and larger proportion of waste is of biodegradable nature. The current waste management practices are inappropriate due to lack of machinery and proper landfill site. The waste is being openly dumped in a locally available area adjacent to Pohru river. The modelling of waste revealed that, with increase in income slab, family members, the waste generation rates also increase. There is need to speed up the construction work of new landfill site, in order to sustainably manage the waste.