Awareness of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Kolkata: Findings from A Case Study

Abstract

Waste management is a major problem in most fast developing countries, with Indian cities being no exception. India generates 1,60,038.9 metric tons of urban municipal solid waste per day as of 2021, which is further projected to increase to 107.01 million tons per year by 2031 due to rapid growth and economic development of the cities as per the report of the Central Pollution Control Board. Waste generation has a close relationship with growth in population and urbanization and is directly linked to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and energy consumption per capita. Ineffective waste management practices have an adverse effect on the environment and public health. Thus, the current study tries to gauge the citizens' awareness towards solid waste management in the city of Kolkata. Kolkata is one of the largest and oldest metropolitan cities of eastern India. The city generates around 4000 tonnes of MSW per day as per the municipal corporation data. The study was carried out based on the survey comprising different groups of citizens in Kolkata. The survey data was taken from 55% male and 45% female respondents with 40% belonging to the age group of 18-28. The education levels of the respondents were post graduate & graduate (65%), high school (26%), and primary and middle school (9%). Around 23% of the respondents were moderately confident with Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, while 32% of the respondents didn't have any knowledge of the said rule or its importance with respect to current scenario. The waste management system and its disposal mechanisms are improving with citizens' awareness, legislative enforcement and upgradation of the city's infrastructure for SWM. Although there is ample scope in resource and energy recovery from the waste, it is still lacking with respect to the existing cities' waste management practices. Thus, the study revealed that awareness needs to increase more for effective implementation of waste management and the municipal corporation needs to carry out different awareness programs with different stake holders.