Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

CONVERTING WASTE INTO ENERGY: A STUDY ON PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN SELECTED CITIES OF INDIA

Samta Jain and Sangeeta Loonker

Abstract

Waste Management, quite specifically solid waste management, is a major concern among all the Asian countries. The new slogan today is: "waste to wealth, refuse to resource and trash to cash." Our environment is chiefly comprised of soil, air and water. It is a well established fact that the modern industrialization, application of large scale technology in our industrial planning, rapid growth of trade and commerce, and the growth popularity of the use and throw products - all these have changed the disposal of waste patterns in the environmental perspective. Biosphere is an important zone for the biological activities and is responsible for ecology and environment. Thus in order to meet the challenges of environmental degradation, caused by unplanned and unmanaged activities, we need to look forward for establishing a totally recycling society, actively encouraging the residents, industries and the public sector to cooperate with each other. The present research analyzes the conditions of waste management in few selected cities of the country and base don that proposes for a model of solid waste management strategies for the largest democracy of the world. The paper underlines that the collection, transportation, disposal and handling of the solid waste must target on practical environmental management processes and techniques.