Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste management in Puducherry (Pondicherry), India

TLDR: In this paper, the authors assessed various aspects of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Puducherry, a small erstwhile French colony in Pondicherry Union Territory were assessed in order to improve the management practices.

Abstract: Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management is one of the most vital issues in the contemporary urban environments particularly in developing countries. Various aspects of MSW management in Puducherry, a small erstwhile French colony in Pondicherry Union Territory were assessed in order to improve the management practices. Its per capita generation rate and quantity in the city showed gradually increasing trend with passage of years. It was 265 tonnes/day (t/d) during 2003, which increased to 370 t/d in 2008, with a waste generation factor of 0.59 kg/capita/day. The sources of MSW classified into different categories and sub-categories showed domestic waste including kitchen waste, market waste, garden and agricultural waste, hospital waste, road and construction waste, sweeping and sanitary waste. Samples of MSW collected randomly from the main dumping yard at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry, were categorized into biodegradable waste comprising 65% and non-biodegradable waste comprising 35%. MSW is dominated by yard waste (38.4%) followed by paper (30%) and plastics (10.4%) and the remaining 21.2% comprised of other waste. The municipalities in Puducherry adopted different methods such as door-to-door collection with segregation of garbage at source for effective MSW management. Composting of the organic waste included both aerobic composting and vermi-composting, and non-biodegradable waste was picked up and recycled for the final disposal of MSW. Awareness programs educating people regarding the problems as well as significance of MSW disposal were practiced through NGOs. However, it was found that there are some shortcomings in the existing MSW management practices, which need rectification.