Municipal solid waste management and business opportunities a study on value creation through reverse logistics

Abstract

Waste management has been a long-awaited issue in the history of India s cleanliness drive. The interaction of the humans with nature instead of leading to sustainable development has led to the destruction of the environment. The composition and quantity of municipal solid waste generated, forms the basis on which management system needs to be planned, designed and operated. The natural resources are now becoming extinct because of continuous use of the same without giving importance to the sustainability. The raw materials are supplied to the manufacturers who in turn supply the finished goods for consumption to the households. The high concern is the loss of the resources. Hence the resource recovery is critical for the waste management s success. newlineThe present study is undertaken with the objective to identify the stakeholders and to study benefits of resource recovery and the business opportunities available through value creation. There is also a need to assess the benefits of increased recovery of resources from waste and economic benefits arising and moving up in the waste hierarchy in the present situation of creeping waste management issues. newlineLike many cities in India, Bengaluru is also facing serious problems of municipal solid may with respect to areas such as collection, sorting, segregation, transportation, disposal and treatment and also it is facing the wrath of people. Bengaluru ranks 3rd in the generation of waste after Mumbai and Delhi (CPCB Report). The responsibility of administrating the infrastructure, health, education, licensing and all civic responsibilities of Bengaluru city is vested with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). BBMP is divided into eight zones with a total of 198 wards. For the purpose of present research, 60 wards were chosen using stratified purposive representative random sampling. BBMP s present municipal solid waste management system (push model) was studied to fulfil the objective of reviewing the solid waste management trends in Bengaluru. newline