Sustainable Waste Management Infrastructure for Small and Medium Towns of Developing Countries: A Case Study of India

Abstract

AbstractLiberalised economic policies of developing countries in the recent decades have accelerated the pace of economic growth and urbanisation. However, urban growth without adequate waste management infrastructure, the first line of defence against the effects of environmental impacts of economic development, is undermining the social and economic gains that have been realised by development in these countries. While the waste management problems of large cities of developing countries are understood, similar issues of smaller towns have not gained much attention. In countries like India, apart from large cities, there are more than 3000 small towns (referred to as ‘semi-urban areas - SUAs’) with population less than 100,000 comprising an aggregate urban population of over 75 million. Waste management infrastructure in these towns are woefully inadequate. As fully recognized urban entities, waste management issues of small towns represent the case of inadequate provision of infrastructure, rather than the issues of urban poverty and legality that are normally associated with slums/ squatter settlements of large cities. In this paper, the waste management issues of SUAs of India are evaluated through a review of current policies and practices. To overcome the issues, multi-disciplinary strategies encompassing technological, economic and financial aspects of waste management are suggested. The results of an attempt made to apply the suggested strategies in the context of four small towns in Tamil Nadu, a southern State of India are described. An integrated wastewater and solid waste management approach is developed for these towns to overcome technological constraints, and to effect improvements at lower costs. The results of a contingent valuation survey conducted in these towns support the suggested ‘demand-driven’ approach to assess household demand and preferences about improved waste management in SUAs. The findings confirm the need for the adoption of low-cost technologies to match the communities’ ‘willingness to pay’ so as to achieve economic efficiency and financial sustainability through full cost recovery.