Management of MSW in Bengaluru city: exploring the economic opportunities

Abstract

Solid waste management has always been poor in the case of India, with the traditional waste management approaches followed in almost every Indian city. These traditional approaches follow the principle of linear economy which is make-use-dispose, thus, neglecting the economic benefits that can be achieved from the waste. Alternative to this linear approach is the circular approach, also known as the circular economy. In circular economy, in which resources are kept in use by extending its life cycle and extracting the maximum value from them while they are in use. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore the economic opportunities associated with the waste that can be achieved in the city of Bengaluru by adopting the principles of circular economy. The need for this study originates from the two well-known causes that exists in our urban system. These are- rapid urbanisation and the transition from the linear economy, with the rapid urbanization the population in metro cities like Bengaluru, is constantly increasing which in result leading to the increased consumption of the resources and at the same time increase in the generation of waste too. The linear economy on the other hand is leading to the poor utilization of resources by disposing the waste into landfill sites, resulting in loss of value along with the loss of many economic opportunities that could have arisen with the recovering and recycling of materials from the waste. The study mainly focuses the waste generation in the city of Bengaluru and not the detailed aspects of collection, transport, processing and disposal, with the geographical scope limited to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP). The objectives formulated for achieving the aim of the study, involve assessing the present MSW generation of the city, analysing the characteristics and the volume of the waste generated and finally exploring the economic potential in the management of MSW in the city of Bengaluru. Present waste management scenario of Bengaluru has been assessed along with the present waste management practices being implemented. The issue identified with MSW management in the city is the lack of coordination and monitoring by the authorities leading to the poor management of the waste. Though the city has decentralised infrastructure for the solid waste management its full potential is v still not fully utilized. In the analysis, “value at risk” is calculated for the different waste categories with the focus on recyclable and e-waste, as both of these holds the most recoverable value. It was found that from the analysis that value in lakhs of Rs. is getting lost due to the existing poor framework of traditional approaches. For the recommendation and proposal, the study proposes a need of strong framework that consist of the establishment of a facility for recovering the materials from the waste and selling them in market or to the manufacturers directly. Policy recommendations have also been made to ensure the stricter involvement of the stakeholders to make it easier for the recovered resources to get back in to the system of reuse along. The study also proposes a open data portal for the record and efficient management of waste related data which the city currently lacks. A public private partnership has also been proposed for the successful functioning of this framework.