Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSW) Scenario in Kurnool City, Andhra Pradesh, India
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is defined to include refuse from households, waste from commercial establishments, and refuse from institutions, market waste, yard waste and street sweeping (World Bank 1994). Waste is an unavoidable by-product of human activities, economic development, urbanization and improving living standards in cities. The increase in quantity and complexity of waste generated in municipalities and notified areas have become serious concern for Government departments, pollution control agencies, regulatory bodies and also the public in India. Inefficient management, utilisation and disposal of this solid waste is an obvious cause for the degradation of environment in India. Improper disposal of this waste generated leads to spread of communicable diseases, causes obnoxious conditions, pollutes all vital components of living environment (air, water & soil) and spoils the bio sphere as a whole. Cleanliness is a major factor that influences development of any nation, which otherwise hampers due to improper disposal of solid waste. Urban society rejects and generates solid materials regularly due to rapid increase in production and consumption. The objectives of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) are to control collect, process, utilise and dispose of solid waste in the most economical way consistent with the protection of public health and the natural environment. Kurnool is one of the largest developing cities in Andhra Pradesh (India) and is undergoing rapid expansion and modernization. This paper presents a case study of present situation of MSW in Kurnool and the process being implemented presently. An environmental audit of MSWM in Kurnool city was under taken to understand the shortcomings including some possible proposals.
