Towards Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management in India: Challenges, Trends, and Innovations

AbstractIn developing economies like India, the need for efficient management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and sustainable developmentis growing. In India about 1,50,847 tonnes of MSW generated daily with decomposable waste accounting for50% of this total. The non-decomposable portion of this waste is either sent to open dumps or unsanitary landfills. Only47% of this waste is processed and about 27% is sent to sanitary landfills. But the waste composition is shifting towards lessorganic and more non-biodegradable portion due to growing economy and purchasing power of individuals. Existing methodsof municipal solid waste management such as composting, bio-methanation, incineration etc. treat specific type ofwastes leaving behind a considerable proportion of rejects and inert which are to be disposed using sanitary/engineeredlandfills. With the goal of developing Smart Cities in India having smart waste management; appropriate waste processingand disposal facility needs to be developed. This paper analyzes the trajectory of MSW quantities and composition trends inIndian Smart Cities, highlighting the need for sanitary/engineered landfills in MSW management. It emphasizes the criticalparameters that influence the performance of these landfills and identifies the challenges inherent in MSW management. Byshedding light on these challenges, the paper lays the groundwork for potential solutions to improve the overall performanceof MSW management.