A STUDY ON MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN VISAKHAPATNAM CITY

* Prem Kumar Dara 1 , T. Byragi Reddy 2 and Ketema Tilahun Gelaye 1 . 1. Associate Professor, Gambella University, Ethiopia. 2. Professor, Andhra University, India. 3. Assistant Professor, Gambella University, Ethiopia. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

Municipal solid waste management is a problem that is experienced by all counties in the world. Because of its nature, it has remained one of the major environmental problems man continues to face. Municipal solid waste management is considered as one of the most serious environmental and social problems challenging municipal authorities in all major cities in India. Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is facing lot of hardship in day to day management and maintenance of solid waste management. Therefore the present study was taken to find out the problems and prospects of Municipal solid waste in Visakhapatnam city. A detailed investigation was made regarding the methods of practices associated with sources, quantity generated, collection, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal of Municipal solid waste in Visakhapatnam city. The data concerning to SWM in Visakhapatnam was obtained through questionnaire, individual field visit, interacting with people and authentic record of municipal corporation. Photographic evidences were also made about generation, storage, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of MSW. The study reveals the issues to be addressed for a more effective and efficient solid waste management practices in Visakhapatnam city as per Municipal Solid Waste

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:-
Problems with the disposal of wastes can be traced from the time when humans first began to congregate in tribes, villages and communities and the accumulation of wastes became a consequence of life (George Tchobanoglous, 1993). Improper disposal leads to the breeding of rats, with their attendant fleas carrying the germs of disease causing plague. Lack of planning and management of solid waste led to epidemic of plague, the Black Death that killed half of the Europeans in the 14 th century and caused many subsequent epidemics and high death tolls.
Solid waste management is a integral part of urban and environmental management of each city with more than 65% of India's 250 million population living in class I town (population over 0.1 million) and 23 cities getting distinction of being metropolises (population over 1million) (Asnani et al;1992, Bhide andSudarshan, 1976) Municipal solid waste management, like most of other infrastructural services has come under great stress, consider low priority areas, solid waste management was never taken up seriously either by public or by concerned agency or authorities ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 5(6), 1448-1453 1449 and now the piled up waste is threatening our heath, environment and well being (Chouhan andReddy 1996, Mazumdar 1994).
Visakhapatnam is the second biggest city in undivided Andhra Pradesh after Hyderabad. Once a small fishing village has evolved into major port city in south India over the decades and considered as the fastest growing city in India. The total area of the city is 540 sq.km (GVMV, 2012) and with Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal corporation jurisdiction of 111sq.km with a growing population of more than 30.82 lakhs. The city is the biggest economic hub with both public and private sector undertaking like Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Visakhapatnam Port, National Thermal Power Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Zinc, Hindustan Shipyard, Bharat heavy Plates and Vessels and any more private companies are located in and around the city generating huge amounts of waste. The Public Health and Sanitation Department of GVMC is responsible for collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste generated in Visakhapatnam City. The present study is carried out in the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation area in the year 2012 to understand the solid waste management scenario in GVMC area.

Materials and Methods:-
The solid waste from the different sector of society was collected, mixed and one Kg sample was prepared by using quartering method. The waste was then characterized and the percentage of each constituent was calculated .Secondary data regarding solid waste generation, collection system and disposal methods were collected from GVMC.

Results and Discussions:-Salient features of Solid waste management in GVMC:-
The Public Health and Sanitation Department of GVMC is responsible for collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste generated in Visakhapatnam City. For operational purposes the entire area of the corporation is divided into 6 zones comprising 72 wards. Sanitary Supervisors heads each of the zones and the sanitary inspector heads each of the wards. While the primary collection in the city is carried out through tricycles and 6 container wheel barrows and push carts the secondary collection would be done through dumper bins and open collection points shown below in table 1. According to GVMC at present the quantity of waste generated is around 737 tons per day with an average per capital solid waste generated by the city works out to around 489 gm/capital/day. The major sources of solid waste generating units are given in table 2.    Transfer Station:-There is one transfer station located at town road for transfer of waste from dumper placers and trucks to big tippers of 20 ton capacity. In this transfer station waste is weighed at the weigh bridge at the entrance, a record is being maintained for in time and out time, weight of the solid waste disposing in to the transfer station and vehicle number. The 20 ton capacity tippers transport the waste to disposal site at Kapulapada which is 25 Kms away from city.

Transportation:-
The vehicles involved in the solid waste transportation in GVMC include dumper placers, tractors, mini vans, tippers and open trucks. Dumper Placers perform on average 12 trips per day from transfer station to dumping site. The tractors and dumpers carrying waste are not covered or partially covered during the journey and waste tends to spill on the roads. Most often workers are not provided with protective hand gloves and shoes so they are directly expose to the waste. Protective measures are necessary to avoid contracting skin allergies and respiratory diseases. The loading and unloading of waste is done through mechanical system reducing direct contact of worker with the wastes. The vehicles used for collection in GVMC are given in table 4. The site is steeply sloping from North to South and East to West direction with a contour variation from 60.00meters to 30.00 meters.

Characteristics and Composition of Solid Waste:-
The quantity and characteristics of solid waste vary from place to place .factors that influence the quantity and composition are the average income level, the sources, the population, social behavior, climate, industrial production and the market for waste materials. The study showed the waste generated in Visakhapatnam is heterogeneous in nature. The major constitutions of solid waste generated in Visakhapatnam are organic waste. The physical characteristics of the city waste, as a percentage by weight is given in Table 5. Conclusions:-Solid Waste management practices in Visakhapatnam appears to be inadequate and need improvements. Segregation of waste at source is one of the important recommendations of MoEF in its guidelines on solid waste management, but it is absent in Visakhapatnam. A system approach needs to be adopted for optimizing the entire operation of SWM encompassing segregation at source, timely and proper collection, transportation routes and types of vehicles and development and proper operation of sanitary landfill site. More emphasis should be laid on scientific waste processing and disposal strategies for the city including effective utilization of the organic waste and recyclables and the development of land fill facility catering to the next 25-30 years period in line with the Municipal Solid Waste (Handling &Management) Rules 2000.