Status of municipal solid waste management system in India

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has become a worldwide concern and is a major issue especially in developing countries due to environmental problems, such as air, soil and water pollution and generation of greenhouse gases from open dumping sites. The MSW management is going through a critical phase due to the non-availability of suitable facilities to treat and dispose of the increasing amount of MSW generated daily specially in metropolitan cities. Municipal authorities generally fail to provide adequate services due to insufficient funds and ineffective legislation. The current MSWM practices including collection, transportation, treatment and disposal systems of India have been presented in this paper. It also highlights the recommendations for improvement in existing system to achieve the goal of sustainable solid waste management considering technological, institutional and financial factors.