What is Decentralized Solid waste management?
Decentralized Solid Waste Management (DSWM) is a strategy for providing a clean environment and sanitary living conditions by minimizing waste at the source. It entails the handling of municipal solid waste by a number of small waste management centers located around the community. These facilities are known as Integrated Resource Recovery Centres (IRRCs) and they can be for-profit or non-profit entities that collect, transport, and treat 2 to 20 metric tons of garbage from the surrounding area.
How is this approach useful?
The decentralized approach is not only financially feasible and sustainable, but it also serves to enhance the quality of life and working circumstances of garbage pickers.It has emerged as the most realistic and acceptable solution to the garbage problem. Many significant trash generators, such as large businesses, hotels, IT firms and local governments have begun to include different decentralized waste management systems into their overall waste management programs.
Treatment Options for DSWM using different technologies
For decentralized solid waste management, varieties of methods are available, including waste recycling, pit composting, vermi-composting and small scale anaerobic digestion.
The selection of appropriate technologies in the Indian environment is influenced by a variety of criteria such as climate, techno-economic viability and city size. The most essential characteristics for applicability are waste generation, land availability, environmental sensitivity to site, capital investment, cost recovery, and so on.
The high moisture content, low calorific value, higher nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium concentrations in solid waste show that after separating the reusable and recyclable parts, the vegetative fractions of waste are more appropriate for composting to organic manure.After composting, the inert, non-biodegradable waste might be disposed of in a sanitary landfill.
Waste recycling
Waste recycling is largely done by the informal sector, which includes waste pickers, kabariwalas, scrap dealers, and recycling units. It can also be done by residents individually or with the help of volunteer organizations. Ragpickers continue to gather recyclable materials and deposit them in the recycling stream. Waste segregation is a crucial activity for waste recycling, although it is seldom done in India. Mixed garbage is not recyclable or compostable. Waste recycling saves landfill space and decreases pollution.
Decentralized Composting
Decentralized composting may be handled by a suitable technology and executed at a low investment and operational cost. Because manual composting in small, decentralized facilities needs labour intensive procedures, it is more easily incorporated into the current Indian level of development and socioeconomic backdrop.
Composting in Pits
The above ground pit's fundamental construction consists of tiny horizontal air pipes on the walls. These pipes function as air holes, allowing air to enter the waste dump. This improves air circulation in the pit and speeds up compositing.
Anaerobic Digestion
Small scale bio-gas is a decentralized and ecologically beneficial method of recovering energy from organic waste. It is a waste disposal technique that aids in the resolution of solid waste environmental issues.It is particularly relevant to future ecological and economic needs since it provides a pollution-free atmosphere as well as efficient energy for cooking and lighting. When bacteria’s breakdown biological material in the absence of oxygen in a process known as anaerobic digestion, bio-gas is produced.
Conclusion
In India, solid waste management is a serious concern. The majority of the difficulties of solid waste management and environmental sustainability remain unresolved.The decentralized approach could be one of the most effective ways to solve waste management problems in India because it has the potential to reduce the quantity of waste by changing people's mindsets and reducing transportation costs, traffic congestion, air pollution, road maintenance costs, and contamination of ground water through leachate seepage. More importantly, it decreases waste in landfills, which is a fundamental restriction of the solid waste management system.
Talk to one of our advisers at Netsol Water now to discover more about waste management practices and how your company can go greener. Contact us at +91-9650608473 or drop a mail at enquiry@netsolwater.com to remain up to date regarding the latest techniques to enhance your waste management.