Assessment of urban solid waste management in a Class II Indian city using geospatial and statistical approaches: A case study of Rampurhat municipality

Abstract

Illegal dumping has emerged as a significant concern in the context of urban solid waste management, posing a considerable challenge for municipal authorities. It is crucial to manage municipal solid waste (MSW) in an environmentally sustainable and health-conscious manner to avoid negative effects on human society, ecological problems, and wasting valuable resources. This research examines the state of solid waste management, the geographic distribution of illegal dumpsites, and the variables contributing to these phenomena. Study reveals that Rampurhat Municipality has ineffective waste management and treatment, lacking 44.60% of the necessary labour resources and 95% and 72% of the necessary vehicles for secondary waste transportation, respectively. This ineffectiveness has led to fly tipping, with a clustered distribution pattern with an observed mean distance of 78.8784 m. Factor analysis revealed two elements that significantly affect the frequency of illegal dumpsites. A new composite component was created using the highest factor loading of the rotated component matrix, revealing that the northern part of the study area is highly affected by this new component, while the central and western part is least affected. The newly built model is statistically significant, with an R2 value of 0.874 and p-values of the predicting variables below 0.05. These findings will be useful to higher authorities, local administration, and policymakers in addressing fly tipping by implementing sustainable solid waste management practices.