JOIN USTERI study predicts steep rise in garbage
A projected waste generation growth rate of six per cent would result in the generation of 14,000 plus tonnes of waste per day in the State by 2020 and an estimated 5,000-6,000 plus tonnes per day in Bengaluru.
This situation needs to be handled quickly with state-of-the-art technology. It is imperative that in order to make Bengaluru and other urban centres of the State sustainable cities, holistic and scientific solutions to manage waste are immediately needed, says a study by The Energy Research Institute (TERI).
“The management and safe disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in urban centres remains one of the major challenges before the Urban Local Bodies. The current practices of disposing collected waste in the city’s peripheries and burning it in heaps on roadsides or at dumping yards to minimise the volume cause a more severe problem of toxic gas emission as the waste is generally a mix of plastic, tyres, tubes and other hazardous substances,” the study says.
This would have a direct, harmful impact on human health and contribute to urban air pollution. The unsafe disposal of waste in landfills introduces many toxic chemical species to ground water, making it unfit for domestic and agricultural purposes.
“With the goal of developing and implementing scientific and sustainable methods for the management of MSW, Karnataka adopted the Integrated Solid Waste Management system. Which encompasses the entire cycle of MSW management including collection, segregation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal in urban local bodies as per the provisions of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000,” a civic activist points out.
Solid waste management becomes crucial in the State because it has been witnessing fast economic growth coupled with rapid urbanisation in the last two decades.
With a total of 218 urban local bodies (ULBs), comprising eight city corporations, 43 City Municipal Councils (CMCs), 94 Town Municipal Councils (TMCs), 68 Town Panchayats as well as five Notified Area Councils (NACs), Karnataka is India’s third most urbanised state with an urban population accounting for 37% of the State’s 61.1 million as per provisional Census, 2011.
Bengaluru is the most populous district with a population of 95.9 lakh and observes a decadal growth of 46.7 per cent against a State average of 15.7 per cent, according to the TERI study.
Experts who have drafted the study say the pace of transition and degradation of natural resources pose a huge challenge for municipal governance.
Currently, these Urban Local Bodies are facing severe challenges in meeting the needs of an ever-growing population and ensuring the sustainable supply of basic amenities such as clean water, MSW management, provision for housing, regular supply of energy and road and urban transportation.