Sustainable models of recycling organizations in Delhi/NCR
Student name: Ms Arshdeep Kaur
Guide: Ms Rozita Singh
Year of completion: 2016
Host Organisation: GEM ENVIRO Management Pvt. Ltd.
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Sachin Sharma
Abstract: The motivation of the present study is the abysmal state of Municipal Solid
Waste Management (MSWM) in urban India. Solid Waste Management which is
already a herculean task in India is becoming more complicated due to the rapid
urbanization, industrialization, population overgrowth and changing lifestyles of
people. Financial constraints, institutional weaknesses, technical inefficiencies,
and lack of community participation in the Municipal Solid Waste Management
(MSWM) have made this situation worse. The mass migration of people has led
to the proliferation of slums and squatters in and around the expanding cities in
India.
Presently in India, about 960 million tonnes of solid waste is being generated
annually (by-products during industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural and
other processes). Approximately 350 million tonnes of this waste are organic
wastes from agricultural sources; about 290 million tonnes are inorganic waste of
industrial and mining sectors and almost 4.5 million tonnes are hazardous in
nature. This has resulted in a huge waste management sector in India.
In this paper, an attempt is made to do a comprehensive review of MSW
generation, its characterization, collection, and treatment processes as practiced
in India. The focus of the present paper is also to see the upcoming trends of
urbanization in India (particularly Delhi) and accordingly generation of waste. It
evaluates the current practices prevalent in India to deal with this solid waste and
problems associated with it. Also this paper focuses on a few companies in Delhi
NCR in the solid waste management space that have the highest potential for
transforming the waste management sector. Lastly, many best practices have
been studied and suggestions on how they can be incorporated into our Indian
system have been provided.
KEY WORDS: Municipal Solid Waste Management, Urbanization, Solid waste
market, Recycling
