Sustainable Waste Management through Waste to Energy Technologies in India - Opportunities and Environmental impacts

Abstract

The advancement in waste to energy (WTE) technologies in India economically provides an optimal solution for the restoration of power and heat and helps in fighting the rising energy demand. These technologies decrease waste volumes, environmental influence, threats to public health and dependence on fossil fuels for power production. As of 2018, more than 62 million metric ton (MTs) of waste is produced yearly in India and the same is expected to increase to 165 million MTs by 2031 and 436 million MTs by 2050 respectively. The land required for the dumping of the 62 million MTs of untreated waste is around 1,240 hectares per year, and the requirement is expected to expand to 66,000 hectares of landfill per year for the projected wastes in the years to come and besides the country also requires a task force to treat these wastes by utilizing proper technologies. India has an estimated potential of WTE of about 2.554 GW from municipal solid waste (MSW) and about 1.683 GW from urban and industrial wastes. The existing WTE plants are an attractive technological alternative for managing wastes, but the pollution caused by these plants is a serious concern and pose a threat to the environment. The current policies, programs, and management structure do not sufficiently address the immediate hurdles of managing the projected waste due to a shortage of logistics and significant planning, inadequate funding, unsuitable technical attentiveness, and inappropriate resource management. The primary intent of this manuscript is to show the potential of the WTE in the country, including the possible technologies, job, and business opportunities and lastly the environmental influence. Also, the policies that need to be improved, evolved or modified to encourage WTE industry are suggested along with a few recommendations for the course of action in the WTE sector that can support the investors, WTE project developers, suppliers, decision makers and the policymakers for further better management and planning.