This document discusses various aspects of municipal solid waste management including disposal methods, landfill criteria, and recycling. It provides details on: - The four main methods for managing municipal solid waste: materials recovery, energy recovery, bioconversion, and landfilling. - Key criteria for selecting and managing landfill sites, including accessibility, buffer zones, groundwater levels, and restricting public access. - Standard processes for managing waste including incineration, composting, and landfilling as well as recycling programs for materials like newspapers. - Benefits of reducing waste such as conserving resources, reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

1. Disposal of
Municipal Solid Waste

2. We Use it
And we dispose it
as
?
What would be the
Future

3. 3Rfor MSW
ReduceReuse
Recycle
The amount and
toxicity of trash you
discard
Containers and
products; repair
what is broken or
give it to
someone who can
repair it
as much as possible, which includes buying
products with recycled content.

4. Various functional elements of municipal
solid waste management system
Storage
• Movable bins - Type I: Bins with lid (5-20 litre), Type II: Bins
of 50 litre capacity, Type III: Bins of capacity from 50-200
litres, Type IV: M.S. Bins (4.5 cum)
• Fixed bins - Masonry bins of 3.6 cum capacity (Type V),
Dustbins/Dalaos
Collection
• (H/H (house to house) collection system, Community bin
system
Transportation
• Hand cart (Type I), Hand cart with six containers (Type II),
Trycycle, Animal cart, Tipper trucks, Dumper placer, Bulk
refuse carrier
Waste Transfer Stations (Relay Centre Facility)
• Transfer station of same level type, Transfer station of split
level type

5. Processing Facility of Municipal Solid
Waste
Source reduction
• Reduce the amount and toxicity of trash you discard
• Reusing items by repairing them, donating them to charity and
community groups, or selling them also reduces waste
• Recycling to turn materials that would otherwise become
waste into valuable resources
Composting
• It is nature's way of recycling organic wastes into new soil
used in vegetable and flower gardens, landscaping, and many
other applications
Energy recovery by incineration/pyrolysis
• In addition to minimizing volume, combustors, when properly
equipped, can convert water into steam to fuel heating
systems or generate electricity. A variety of pollution control
technologies reduce the toxic materials emitted in combustion
smoke.

6. Final Disposal Facilities/ Landfilling
• In MSW management, regardless of the method of processing, the
final disposal called "Land fill" is mandatory. In India, most of the
wastes (about 90 %) are directly dumped on the low lying area
outside of the city/town limits which have no provision of leachate
collection and treatment and landfill gas collection and use.
Waste disposal trends in India
Waste disposal methods
1971 (40 cities)1 1991 (23
cities)2
Land dumping Almost all 89.8 %
Composting - 8.6 %
Others (pelletization, vermi
composting)
Source: 1Nath, 1984, and 2EPTRI (draft), 1995

7. Common Problems Associated with
Unsound MSW
• Careless and indiscriminate open dumping of
wastes creates unsightly and unsanitary
conditions within municipalities, e.g. along the
roads and highways.
• Delay in delivery of solid wastes to landfills,
resulting in nuisance dumps and unpleasant
odours, which attract flies and other vectors. Such
dumps also lead to pollution of land/soils, and
ground and surface water through leachate as well
as air through emission of noxious and offensive
gases.

8. • Open solid waste dumps can also be a public health risk.
Direct contact with refuse can be dangerous and unsafe
to the public, as infectious diseases such as cholera and
dysentery can be spread through contact with these
wastes. In most municipalities, scavenging on refuse
dumps is a common practice, and such people face
danger of direct exposure to hazardous waste. Open
solid waste dumps can also provide suitable breeding
places for vermin and flies and other disease vectors,
and can also contain pathogenic micro-organisms;
• Some categories of solid wastes block permeability of
soils and drainage systems, including water courses,
open drains and sewers, thus posing difficulties in the
functioning and maintenance of such facilities;
• Due to the capital-intensive nature of solid waste
handling and disposal operations, these can become an
economic burden and constrain service delivery in other
areas such as medical care, education and road
construction.

9. Benefits of Municipal Solid
Waste Reduction
• Resource Conservation
Recycling reduces all categories of health risks
and pollution from exploration, extraction, and
processing activities associated with raw
material production.
• Energy
In US, products made from the 57 million tons
of MSW recycled in 1996 used 408 trillion Btu’s
less energy than would have been needed to
make those goods from virgin materials. That is
enough energy to supply 4 million households
with energy for a year.

10. • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In US, use of the 57 million tons of recycled materials
instead of virgin materials resulted in a reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 33 million tons of
carbon or the emissions saved from removing 25 million
cars from the roads.
These savings are because carbon emissions from making
steel, copper, glass, or paper from virgin materials instead
of recycled materials are 4 to 5 times higher. For aluminum,
emissions are about 40 times higher for virgin ore when
compared to making aluminum from used beverage
containers.
• Landfill Space
The 57 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW)
recycled in 1996 represent 130 million cubic yards of landfill
space or enough to require 64 additional landfills large
enough to take the MSW from both Detroit and Dallas for a
year.

11. Standard Processes for
Managing Municipal Waste
• Incineration (increasing-reduces volume) – mostly by
a few major hospital for managing clinical wastes;
• Composting
• Landfill (most common and economical)
• Recovery/recycling
Almost all categories of waste may be disposed to
better managed landfills directly. However, those
types of wastes which will destroy the microbiological
degradation processes within the landfill are
unwelcome i.e. the non-biodegradable wastes.
Management of these could include: incineration,
recycling and reusing.

12. Four Methods for Resource Recovery or
Disposal of MSW
Recovery of materials : Recovered paper, plastic, metal, and
glass can be re-used.
Recovery of energy : Energy is stored in chemical form in all
MSW materials that contain organic compounds, i.e. which
can be used to generate electricity and steam.
Bioconversion : The natural organic components of MSW
(Food and plant wastes, paper, etc) can be composted
aerobically to carbon dioxide, water, and a compost product
that can be used as soil conditioner. Anaerobic digestion or
fermentation produces methane, alcohol and a compost
product.
Land filling : MSW materials that cannot be subjected to any of
the above three method, plus any residuals from these
processes (e.g. ash from combustion) must be disposed in
properly desinged landfills.

13. Pathways for processing of Municipal solid waste
Processing Intermediate
Products
Materials
for Market
Conversion
to Energy
Incineration
Compost
Anaerobic
Digestion
Pyrolisis
Gasification
Combustion
Co -utilisation
with Fossil Fuels
Glass, Metals,
Aluminium etc.
Biodegradable
Fraction
Secondary
Raw material
Solid
Recovered Fuels
Mechanical
Separation
MSW

14. Waste management / Thermal treatment
trends
Dumping
Sanitary Landfill
Mass Burn
Gasification
Pyrolysis
Hydrogen
Economically the best Environmentally the best

15. Disposal Methods
 Incineration accounts for most of the remainder,
whereas
 Composting of solid wastes accounts for only an
insignificant amount.
 Selecting a disposal method depends almost entirely
on costs, which in turn are likely to reflect local
circumstances.

16. Landfill
• Sanitary landfill is the cheapest satisfactory means of disposal,
but only if suitable land is within economic range of the source
of the wastes; typically, collection and transportation account for
75 percent of the total cost of solid waste management.
• Gases are generated in landfills through anaerobic
decomposition of organic solid waste. If a significant amount of
methane is present, it may be explosive; proper venting
eliminates this problem.

17. Overflowing Landfill
A volume that rapidly overflows local dumps. Cities running out of
space for landfill often turn to incinerating their waste or transporting it
to other areas, although up to 90 percent of the material might have
been recycled.

20. Incinerators
• In incinerators of conventional design, refuse is burned on
moving grates in refractory-lined chambers; combustible gases
and the solids they carry are burned in secondary chambers.
• Combustion is 85 to 90 percent complete for the combustible
materials.
• In addition to heat, the products of incineration include the
normal primary products of combustion carbon dioxide and
water as well as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen and other gaseous
pollutants; nongaseous products are fly ash and unburned solid
residue.

21. Composting
• Composting operations of solid wastes include preparing refuse
and degrading organic matter by aerobic microorganisms.
Refuse is presorted, to remove materials that might have
salvage value or cannot be composted, and is ground up to
improve the efficiency of the decomposition process.
• The refuse is placed in long piles on the ground or deposited in
mechanical systems, where it is degraded biologically to a
humus with a total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content
of 1 to 3 percent, depending on the material being composted.
• After about three weeks, the product is ready for curing,
blending with additives, bagging, and marketing.

23. Resource Recovery
• These systems fall into two groups: combustion processes and
pyrolysis processes. A number of companies burn in-plant
wastes in conventional incinerators to produce steam.
• A few municipalities produce steam in incinerators in which the
walls of the combustion chamber are lined with boiler tubes; the
water circulated through the tubes absorbs heat generated in
the combustion chamber and produces steam.
• Pyrolysis, also called destructive distillation, is the process of
chemically decomposing solid wastes by heat in an oxygen-
reduced atmosphere.

24. Recycling
• The practice of recycling solid waste is an ancient one. Metal
implements were melted down and recast in prehistoric times.
• Today, recyclable materials are recovered from municipal refuse
by a number of methods, including shredding, magnetic
separation of metals, air classification that separates light and
heavy fractions, screening, and washing.
• Another method of recovery is the wet pulping process:
Incoming refuse is mixed with water and ground into a slurry in
the wet pulper, which resembles a large kitchen disposal unit.

25. Recycling Newspapers

26. Thermal treatment facility at Stanislaus, California
The WTE industry is one of the most highly regulated in the US. PHOTO: AMERICAN REF-FUEL

31. Greenhouse Gases emission
associated with the disposal of MSW

32. Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks
Associated with the Material Life Cycle

33. Landfill Gas
CH4 emissions
CO2
Composting
or other
treatment
Landfill Gas
Collection
CO2
Flaring Electricity
Generation
CO2
Reducing greenhouse gas emission from waste:
The Role of Landfill Gas Management and Carbon
Finance in Solid Waste Management

34. Energy from MSW

35. Land Filling
Landfills include:
• any site which is used for more than a year for the
temporary storage of waste; and,
• any internal waste disposal site, that is to say a site where a
producer of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at
the place of production.
Landfills do not include:
• any facility where waste is unloaded in order to permit its
preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or
disposal elsewhere;
• any site where waste is stored as a general rule for a period
of less than three years prior to recovery or treatment; or,
• any site where waste is stored for a period of less than one
year prior to disposal.

36. Criteria For Selecting and
Managing a Landfill Site
1. Municipal Waste Collection:
i. Preferably, a site accessible within 30
minutes travel time (a function of road and
traffic conditions) should be sought, because
of the need to avoid adversely affecting the
productivity of collection vehicles. At
distances greater than 30 minutes travel, for
collection operations to be economic,
investment in either large capacity collection
vehicles (5 tonnes per load or greater) would
be necessary.

37. 2. Municipal Waste Transportation:
i. The area should be accessible by a competent public
road, which can accommodate the additional truck
traffic without significant effect on traffic flow rates.
From the public road into the site, the access road to
be constructed should be less than 10 km for large
landfills serving metropolitan areas and less than 1 km
for small landfills serving secondary cities.
ii. Collection vehicles should have lids to avoid littering
neighboring streets whilst transferring waste to
disposal site.

38. 3. Municipal Waste Disposal
i. Adequate land area and volume to provide the
landfill capacity to meet projected needs for at
least ten years, so that costly investments in
access roads, drainage, fencing and weighing
stations are justifiable.
ii. The land area should not be in areas where
adequate buffer zones are not possible, or in
areas immediately upwind of a residential area in
the prevailing wind direction(s).
iii. Areas characterized by steep gradients, where
stability of slopes could be/are problematic.
iv. The seasonally high table level (i.e. 10 year high)
of the groundwater should be below the
proposed base of any excavation or site
preparation to enable landfill development.

39. v. No environmentally significant wetlands of important
biodiversity or reproductive value, sensitive ecological
and/or historical areas should be present within the
potential area of the landfill development.
vi. None of the areas within the landfill boundaries should
be part of the ten-year groundwater recharge area for
existing or pending water supply development.
vii. There should be no private or public irrigation, or
livestock water supply wells down-gradient of the landfill
boundaries because they are at risk from contamination -
alternative water supply sources are readily and
economically available, and the owner(s) gives written
consent to the potential risk of well abandonment.
viii. Area should not be in close proximity to significant
surface water bodies, e.g. watercourses or dams.

40. ix. No known environmentally rare or endangered species
breeding areas or protected living areas should be
present within the site boundaries.
ix. No significant protected forests should be within 0.5 km
of the landfill development area.
ix. No major lines of electrical transmission or other
infrastructure (e.g. sewer, water lines) should be
crossing the landfill development area, unless the landfill
operation would clearly cause no concern or rerouting is
economically feasible.
ix. There should not be underlying limestone, carbonate, or
other porous rock formations that would be ineffective as
barriers to leachate and gas migration, where the
formations are more than 1.5 m in thickness and present
as the uppermost geological unit.

41. xiii. There should not be underground mines that could be
adversely affected by surface activities of land filling, or
mining resources, which could be rendered less
accessible by land filling unless the owner(s) gives
explicit, consent.
xiv. No residential development should be adjacent to the
perimeter of the site boundary. The waste disposal site
should be at least outside a radius of one thousand
meters away from a residential or commercial area and
water sources.
xv. Landscaping and protective berms should be
incorporated into the design to minimize visibility of
operations from residential neighborhoods.
xvi. Unstable areas are not recommended – i.e. there should
not be any significant seismic risk within the region of the
landfill which could cause destruction of berms, drains,
or other civil works, or require unnecessarily costly
engineering measures.

42. xvii. There should not be fault lines or significantly fractured
geological structure that would allow unpredictable
movement of gas or leachate are within 0.5 km of the
perimeter of the proposed landfill development.
xviii. The site should not be within 3 km (or legislated distance) of
an airport or landing strip as the landfills attract birds,
creating the danger of aircraft striking birds – for sites
located more than 3km and less than 8 km from the nearest
airport, no consideration is to be given unless the aviation
authority has provided written permission stating that it
considers the location as not threatening to air safety.
xix. Limited office facilities should be provided for use by the
supervisor and other staff. Locating this office close to the
entrance to the site will allow vehicle movements into the
site to be monitored. The office should be provided with
basic amenities including ventilation, toilet facilities, car park
(in order to avoid interference with traffic flow); and, on large
sites, as area where a weigh bridge (e.g. receiving over 500
tonnes/day) could be installed.

43. xx. To restrict access to the site, the entire perimeter should
have a suitable animal pro of barrier. This could be in the
form of a wire mesh fence, or, at the minimum, a ditch
constructed such that excavated material is placed to form a
bund on the site side of the ditch, on which may be planted
indigenous species to form a hedge barrier. A distinctive
buffer zone can be established between the site of the
surrounding area by planting trees and shrubs. The
entrance to the site should incorporate a cattle grid to deter
entry of animals and an after hours disposal area just
outside the gate.
xxi. A covered area should be provided, close to the landfill area
where mobile plant (bull dozers, wheeled loaders, and
trucks) can be maintained. A securely locked compound
should be provided for secure storage of spare parts and
lubricants and tools for routine maintenance and repair. A
suitably lockable diesel fuel tank should be installed in this
area, sized to accommodate perhaps a week’s supply of
fuel.

44. xxii. The presence of scavengers on a landfill is highly
disruptive and can prevent modern landfill operational
techniques. Where their presence is inevitable then they
have to be accommodated so they cause minimal
disruption.
xxiii. Groundwater quality monitoring facilities need to be
provided during the site development phase.
Consideration has to be made for when there will be the
need in the future to install a gas monitoring system near
to buildings close to the site which may become at risk
from gas migration once waste land filling has started.

45. Waste Decomposition
• The decomposition process that naturally occurs when
waste material is buried is a principal driving force in the
development, operation and closure of a landfill.
• MSW contains a large proportion of organic materials that
naturally decompose when landfilled. This decomposition
process initially is aerobic, but after the oxygen within the
waste profile is consumed, it switches over to anaerobic
processes.
• Both aerobic and anaerobic processes have byproducts. In
the aerobic process, the main byproducts are carbon
dioxide, plus contaminated water that flows toward the base
of the landfill. In the anaerobic process, carbon dioxide and
methane are produced as waste decomposes. Liquid
byproducts contain a large concentration of various
contaminants that naturally move toward the landfill’s base.

46. • The decomposition process continues for many years. As
this takes place, in addition to the principal byproducts
already mentioned, trace quantities of materials that may
have significant impacts upon the environment can be
contained in both the landfill gas and in the leachate. These
trace materials are generated until the landfill becomes
completely stabilized. Although it isn’t known long how this
will take, some estimate between 300 and 1,000 years.
• It is hoped that new aerobic and anaerobic systems shorten
the time necessary to stabilize the waste, therefore reducing
the amount of byproducts that are released into the
environment. In addition, it is anticipated that each of these
processes significantly reduce volume. Thus, larger
quantities of waste can be placed in the same area, and the
eventual landfill profile is more compatible with the
surrounding land uses.

47. Phases of Solid Waste Decomposition
References: Farquhar, G. J. and F. A. Rovers. 1973. “Gas Production During
Refuse Decomposition,” Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, Vol. 2.; Stanforth, R., R.
Ham, M. Anderson and R. Stegmann. 1979. “Development of a Synthetic
Municipal Landfill Leachate,” Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation,

48. Landfill Gas Recovery
• The waste deposited in a landfill gets subjected, over a
period of time, to anaerobic conditions and its organic
fraction gets slowly volatilized and decomposed, leading to
production of landfill gas which contains a high percentage
of methane (about 50%).
• Typically, production of landfill gas starts within a few
months after disposal of wastes and generally lasts for 10
years or even more depending upon mainly the
composition of wastes and availability of mositure. As the
gas has a calorific value of around 4500 Kcal/m3, it can be
used as a source of energy either for direct heating/cooking
applications or to generate power through IC engines or
turbines.

49. Advantages of Landfill Gas Recovery
• Reduced GHG emissions;
• Low cost means for waste disposal; and
• The gas can be utilized for power generation or as
domestic fuel.
Disadvantages of Landfill Gas Recovery
• Inefficient gas recovery process yielding only 30-40% of
the total amount of gas actually generated. Balance gas
escapes to the atmosphere (significant source of two
major green house gases, carbon-dioxide and methane);
• Utilization of methane may not be feasible for remote
sites;
• Cost of pre-treatment to upgrade the gas may be high;
and
• Spontaneous ignition/explosions may occur due to
possible build up to methane concentrations in
atmosphere.

50. Environmental Concerns of Land Fill
• A landfill’s most noticeable concern is managing air
emissions. For example, while not significantly harmful to the
environment, wind-blown paper is the most frequently cited
concern of many landfill’s neighbors. While it is challenging
to control wind-blown paper, the amount that escapes from a
landfill can be minimized through management practices,
such as having the operator pick up these materials or
curtailing operations on high wind days.
• Odors also may escape from the land-fill. Odors generally
result from decomposing waste and are difficult to entirely
eliminate. To help, the amount of water that comes in
contact with the waste can be minimized, and landfill
operators should avoid accumulating ponds of water within
the site. Good management practices, especially when
recovering landfill gas, can minimize odors.

51. • Controlling dust also presents challenges for landfill
operators. Dust can best be managed by limiting the
amount of soil that is directly exposed and is not covered
with vegetation or by dust control chemicals and spraying
with water, as needed.
• Carbon dioxide and methane are natural byproducts of
decomposition. Approximately half of the landfill gas is
carbon dioxide with the remainder being methane. Carbon
dioxide is only a concern because it is a greenhouse gas.
Methane, however, presents a number of problems,
particularly as it migrates underground before escaping
into the atmosphere.
• Methane entering enclosed structures can cause an
explosion. Care also must be taken when entering
subsurface structures such as manholes that are located
in or around the landfill. They very likely contain gases
that can asphyxiate personnel who enter them. Standard
procedures are available for testing, monitoring and
venting these structures before landfill personnel enter.

52. • Methane emitting into the atmosphere also has been cited
as a significant source of greenhouse gases. The global
warming potential (GWP) of MSW is estimated to be 2.32
tons of carbon dioxide per ton of landfilled waste. One ton
of methane is equivalent to 25 tons of carbon dioxide from
a greenhouse gas potential. So controlling methane is
important to consider in the global warming debate.
• Landfill gas also contains other organic compounds,
generally in trace amounts. A number of these chemicals
have been cited as having potential detrimental health
effects to residents near the landfill.
• Noise may have a significant impact on the environment
around the landfill. Operating equipment, alarm systems
and blowers on gas recovery systems can be sources of
noise. Good operation generally can minimize this.

53. • Waste entering the landfill contains moisture that
naturally, as well as by the pressure of successive
layers of waste being placed, squeezes water out
of the waste. Additionally, rainwater that enters the
landfill, or the surface runoff that enters the site,
increases the liquid materials quantity that can
reach the landfill base. This liquid is referred to as
leachate and is highly contaminated. If it is allowed
to escape from the landfill, the leachate can
contaminate groundwater resources located below
the landfill.

54. Groundwater Contamination by Leachate

55. Landfill Reclamation
• A relatively new approach used to expand municipal solid
waste (MSW) landfill capacity and avoid the high cost of
acquiring additional land.
• It is conducted in a number of ways, with the specific
approach based on project goals and objectives and site
specific characteristics.
• The equipment used for reclamation projects is adapted
primarily from technologies already in use in the mining
industry, as well as in construction and other solid waste
management operations.
Steps in Landfill Reclamation
• Excavation
• Soil Separation (Screening)
• Processing for Reclamation of Recyclable Material or
Disposal

56. Excavation
• An excavator removes the contents of
the landfill cell. A front-end loader then
organizes the excavated materials into
manageable stockpiles and separates
out bulky material, such as appliances
and lengths of steel cable.

57. Soil Separation (Screening)
• A trommel (i.e., a revolving cylindrical sieve) or vibrating
screens separate soil (including the cover material) from
solid waste in the excavated material. The size and type of
screen used depends on the end use of the recovered
material. For example, if the reclaimed soil typically is used
as landfill cover, a 2.5-inch screen is used for separation. If,
however, the reclaimed soil is sold as construction fill, or for
another end use requiring fill material with a high fraction of
soil content, a smaller mesh screen is used to remove
small pieces of metal, plastic, glass, and paper.
• Trommel screens are more effective than vibrating screens
for basic landfill reclamation. Vibrating screens, however,
are smaller, easier to set up, and more mobile.

58. Steps in Project Planning
• Conduct a site characterization study.
• Assess potential economic benefits.
• Investigate regulatory requirements.
• Establish a preliminary worker health and
safety plan.
• Assess project costs.

59. Conduct a Site Characterization Study
• The first step in a landfill reclamation project calls
for a thorough site assessment to establish the
portion of the landfill that will undergo reclamation
and estimate a material processing rate.
• The site characterization should assess facility
aspects, such as geological features, stability of
the surrounding area, and proximity of ground
water, and should determine the fractions of
usable soil, recyclable material, combustible
waste, and hazardous waste at the site.

60. Assess Potential Economic Benefits
• Increased disposal capacity.
• Avoided or reduced costs of:
—Landfill closure.
—Postclosure care and monitoring.
—Purchase of additional capacity or sophisticated systems.
—Liability for remediation of surrounding areas.
• Revenues from:
—Recyclable and reusable materials (e.g., ferrous metals,
aluminum, plastic, and glass).
—Combustible waste sold as fuel.
—Reclaimed soil used as cover material, sold as
construction fill, or sold for other uses.
• Land value of sites reclaimed for other uses.

61. Thus, this step in project planning calls for
investigating the following areas:
• Current landfill capacity and projected demand.
• Projected costs for landfill closure or expansion of the
site.
• Current and projected costs of future liabilities.
• Projected markets for recycled and recovered
materials.
• Projected value of land reclaimed for other uses.

62. Investigate Regulatory Requirements
• The municipal solid wastes
(management and handling) rules,
2000.

63. Benefits of Landfill
Reclamation
• Extending landfill capacity at the current site
• Generating revenues from the sale of recyclable
materials
• Lowering operating costs or generating revenues
from the sale of reclaimed soil
• Producing energy at MWCs
• Reducing landfill closure costs and reclaiming land
for other uses
• Retrofitting liners and removing hazardous materials

64. Drawbacks of Landfill
Reclamation
• Managing hazardous materials
• Controlling releases of landfill gases and odors
• Controlling subsidence or collapse
Excavation of one landfill area can undermine the
integrity of adjacent cells, which can sink or collapse
into the excavated area.
• Increasing wear on excavation and MWC equipment

65. Incineration
It is the process of direct burning of wastes in the
presence of excess air (oxygen) at high temperature
(about 8000C) liberating heat energy, inert gases and ash.
Net energy yield depends upon the density and
composition of waste, percentage of moisture and inert
materials, which add to the heat loss, ignition temperature,
size, and shape of the constituents, etc. Combustion
results in transfer of 65-80% of the heat content of the
organic matter into hot air, steam and hot water.
Advantage of Incineration
• Suitable for high calorific value waste (paper), plastics,
hospital wastes etc;
• Units with continuous feed and high throughput can be set
up;
• Thermal Energy recovery for direct heating/power
generation;

66. • Relatively noiseless and odorless;
• Low land area requirement;
• Can be located within city limits, reducing cost of waste
transportation; and
• Hygienic.
Disadvantages of Incineration
• Least suitable for high moisture content/low CV wastes and
chlorinated wastes
• Excessive moisture and inert content in waste affects net
energy recovery; Auxiliary fuel support may be necessary to
sustain combustion;
• Toxic metals may concentrate in ash;
• In addition to particulates, SO2 and NOx emission, chlorinated
compounds, ranging from HCI to organo-compounds such as a
dioxins and heavy metals are a cause for concern, which
requires elaborate pollution control equipment; and
• High capital costs.

67. Treatment of organic MSW
After the separation of inorganic and organic MSW,
the organic MSW are also treated for biogas
production. There are two methods for biogas
production
• Aerobic digestion
• Anaerobic digestion/Biomethanation

68. Anaerobic digestion/Biomethanation
• Anaerobic digestion is the bacterial decomposition of organic
matter that occurs in the absence of oxygen.
• In this process, organic fraction of the wastes is segregated and
fed to a closed container (Biogas digester) where in the presence
of methanogenic bacteria and under anaerobic conditions, it
undergoes bio-degradation producing methane-rich biogas and
effluent.
• Biogas mainly consists of methane (about 60-75%) and carbon
dioxide (about 25-40%) besides small quantities of NH3 and H2S
and have Calorific value of about 5000 kcal/m3.
• Depending upon the waste composition, the biogas production
range from 50-150m3/tones of wastes.
• The biogas can be utilized either for cooking/heating applications
or for generating motive power or electricity though dual gas
engines, low-pressure gas turbines or steam turbines.
• The sludge from anaerobic digestion, after stabilization, can be
used as a soil conditioner, or as manure depending upon its
composition, which is determined mainly by the composition of the
inout waste.

69. Advantages of Anaerobic Digestion/Biomethanation
• Generation of gaseous fuel;
• Can be done on a small-scale;
• No external power requirement unlike aerobic treatment;
• Enclosed system enables all the gas produces to be collected for;
• Green house gases emission to the atmosphere is avoided;
• Free from bad odor, rodent and fly menace, visible pollution and
social resistance;
• Modular construction of plant and closed treatment needs less
land area; and
• Production of biogas and high-grade soil conditioner.
Disadvantages of Anaerobic Digestion/Biomethanation
• In case of digesters operated under mesophilic temperature,
destruction of pathogenic organisms may be less than that in
Aerobic Composting. However, several digester systems
operated at high thermophilic temperature are also available;
• It is more capital intensive compared to composting and landfill;
and not suitable for wastes containing less biodegradable matter.

70. MSW Management in India
• The per capita of MSW generated daily, in India ranges
from about 100 g in small towns to 500 g in large towns.
• The growth in MSW in our urban centres has outpaced
the population growth in recent years.
For example, the population of Mumbai grew from
around 8.2 million in 1981 to 12.3 million in 1991,
registering a growth of around 49%. On the other hand,
MSW generated in the city increased from 3 200 tonnes
per day to 5 355 tonnes per day in the same period
registering a growth of around 67% (CPCB 2000).
• This trend can be ascribed to our changing lifestyles,
food habits, and change in living standards.

71. • MSW in cities is collected by respective municipalities and
transported to designated disposal sites, which are normally
low lying areas on the outskirts of the city.
• The average collection efficiency for MSW in Indian cities is
about 72.5% and around 70% of the cities lack adequate
waste transport capacities (TERI 1998).
• The insanitary methods adopted for disposal of solid wastes
is, therefore, a serious health concern. The poorly
maintained landfill sites are prone to groundwater
contamination because of leachate production. Open
dumping of garbage facilitates the breeding for disease
vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats, and
other pests (CPCB 2000).
• The municipalities in India face the challenge of reinforcing
their available infrastructure for efficient MSW management
and ensuring the scientific disposal of MSW by generating
enough revenues either from the generators or by identifying
activities that generate resources from waste management.

72. Projected Trend in Generation of
MSW

73. Cumulative Requirement of Land (base
year 1997), for Disposal of MSW

74. Methane Emissions
• Indiscriminate landfilling leads to deterioration of water
quality in neighbourhood areas of landfill sites due to
contamination by leachates from the landfills. This has
adverse health impacts on people living nearby, causes
bad odours, and the people living nearby live in the
constant fear of explosion of methane gas that can
accumulate at the landfill sites. Landfill gas, which is
50%–60% methane, contributes significantly to global
warming. It is estimated that in 1997, the landfills
released about 7 million tonnes of methane into the
atmosphere, which would increase to 39 million tonnes
by 2047 under BAU (business as usual) scenario (Figure
3). Emissions have been calculated using Bingemer and
Crutzen’s (1987) approach, which assumes that 50% of
the carbon emissions in the landfills is transformed into
methane.

75. Emission of Methane from Landfills in
India

76. Means of MSW Disposal in INDIA
• The growth in MSW (municipal solid waste) generation in
India has out paced the growth population in recent years.
• The per capita generation of MSW in India range from
about 100g in small towns to 500g in large towns. The
recyclable content of waste ranges from 13% to 20%
(CPCB 1994/95).
• The survey conducted by CPCB puts total municipal waste
generation from class 1 and class 2 cities to around 18
million tons in 1997 (CPCB 200b).
• Disposal of waste is a major issue of concern in India.
Respective municipalities collect MSW in cities and
transport it to designated disposal sites, which is normally
a low-lying area on the outskirts of a city.

77. Targeting Waste Reduction at
Source
• Fees and tax incentives to promote
market-mechanisms to effect source
reduction.
• Mandatory standards and regulations.
• Education and voluntary compliance
with policies by business and
consumers.

78. Market Actions For Waste Reduction
• By charging for the environmental and economic
costs of production and disposal of waste upfront,
market forces can be employed to improve the
efficiency of waste management.
• By incorporating the cost of disposal also in the
production cost, tendency to use less packaging or
adoption of the recyclable/reusable packaging
material would be promoted.
• At the consumer end also the tendency to reuse the
material would be promoted.

79. Mandatory Standards For Waste
Reduction
• Setting mandatory standards could make business
responsible for the waste it generates. For instance,
Germany has implemented a mandatory recycling
programme in which, theoretically, the seller of
consumer goods must take back all the package
waste that is produced.
• In India the regulatory agencies should take the lead
in setting up rules prescribing targets for waste
reduction in various manufacturing sectors.

80. Education and Voluntary Compliance
• The alternative policy consists of a voluntary
programme of consumer education and
business initiatives. One of the tools to achieve
this could be adoption of EMS (Environmental
Management System) which is necessarily a
voluntary initiative.
• The industries adopting EMS have achieved
economic benefits also while achieving better
environmental performance.

81. Revamp Waste Collection System
• Revamp the existing collection service structure to
provide community with waste bins, conveniently
placed for the people to deposit domestic waste,
and door to door collection of waste.
• This along with separation of waste, at source, into
biodegradable and non-biodegradable
components would not only reduce the cost of
transportation for final disposal but also provide
segregated organic waste stock for waste to
energy activities.

82. Treatment and disposal
• Proper segregation of waste would lead to
better options and opportunities for its scientific
disposal.
• Recyclables for example, could be straightaway
transported to recycling units, which, in turn,
would pay the corporations for it, thereby
increasing their income.
• Finally, the inert material that will be required to
be sent to landfill would be of much lower
quantity compared to un-segregated waste,
consequently increasing the life of our existing

83. Efforts towards institutional and regulatory
reforms
• The financial constraints, institutional problems within the
departments, fragile links with other concerned agencies, lack
of suitable staff, and other allied problems prevent the urban
local bodies from delivering and maintaining an efficient waste
management system.
• Harness and integrate the role of three other emerging actors
in this field - the private sector, NGO’s, and ragpickers.
• Private sector participation can help upgrade technical and
managerial expertise, increase efficiency in operation and
maintenance, improve customer services, apart from bringing
in the capital to support the government in its efforts at waste
management.
• Non-governmental organizations can play an important role in
effectively projecting the community’s problems and
highlighting its basic requirements for urban services.

84. Source Reduction: Plastic soft-drink bottles are now 25 percent
lighter than in 1977. The weight of aluminium cans has been
reduced by 35 percent since 1965.
MSW - REDUCTION AT SOURCE

85. • Consumer goods of low or long life
• Reduction in the obsolescence of consumer goods
Plastic containers
Glass containers
Once usable
10-25 times reusable
Aluminium
Steel
Glass
15 million kcal/ton.
6.6 million kcal/ton.
4.4 million kcal/ton.
MSW - VOLUME REDUCTION

86. MSW - REDUCTION AT SOURCE

87. Separation at source (in the kitchen) – the first step
in a strong recycling program.
MSW - RECYCLE/ SEGREGATION AT SOURCE / RECYCLE

88. Containers of Australian computer waste being impounded by
Filipino authorities in Manila.
MSW - DISPOSAL (EXPORT)

89. Wandering Garbage : In 1987, a barge filled with garbage similar to
this barge traveled from New York to Mexico looking for a place to
dispose of its cargo. This practice of shipping unwanted garbage to
other countries continues today throughout the world.
MSW - DISPOSAL (EXPORT)

90. The cargo ship Khian Sea, loaded with incinerator ash from
Philadelphia, is approached by a boat carrying members of the
American Bureau of Shipping ( a private inspection service) as it
lies at anchor off Big Stone Beach, Delaware.
MSW - DISPOSAL (EXPORT)

91. Scavengers sort through the trash at “ Smoky Mountain ” one of
the huge metropolitan dumps in Manila, Philippines. Some 20,000
people live and work on these enormous garbage dumps. The health
effects are tragic.
Waste Recycle

92. Waste Recycle

93. MSW - Recycle

94. Reusing discarded products is a creative and efficient way to reduce wastes.
This recycling center in Berkeley, CA, is a valuable source of used building
supplies and a money saver for the whole community.
MSW - RECYCLE

95. Recycling: Even with the growth of recycling programs during the past
several years, North Americans recycle only a small percentage of the
municipal solid waste generated.
MSW - RECYCLE

96. This playground and park utilized 3000 recycled tires.
MSW - RECYCLE