Solid waste, its health impairments and role of rag pickers in Tiruchirappalli city, Tamil Nadu, Southern India

Methodology for Assessment of Alternative Waste Treatment Strategies Using Entropy Weights

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste is one of the means to attain sustainable development. Multiple factors involving several location specific situations, both measurable and intangible, makes decision making for technology selection very difficult. In this paper, a multi criterion evaluation system for municipal solid waste treatment strategies is established on the basis of specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and trackable situations, to prove the effectiveness of this method. From among various alternatives, three prominent strategies, namely, incineration, anaerobic digestion and composting are considered for the evaluation. Exhaustive data collection is done from conducting field studies, as well as from published data. Three types of communities are evaluated by this technique, namely, typical cities in developed countries, ‘A’ grade cities in India and ‘B’ grade cities in India. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of community specific situations on the right choice of waste disposal method using a technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach, where weights of criteria are determined by means of entropy weight method. The case study shows that the proposed evaluation results are reliable, which are more coincident with the reality, since the most relevant factors for selection have been used backed by exhaustive field data collection. Policy makers gain from the outcome of this study by guiding them through technology selection. So, the adopted approach should be promoted widely in the evaluation of waste treatment strategies, to realize sustainable development.

Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is a pervasive and growing problem. To estimate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce plastic pollution, we modeled stocks and flows of municipal solid waste and four sources of microplastics through the global plastic system for five scenarios between 2016 and 2040. Implementing all feasible interventions reduced plastic pollution by 40% from 2016 rates and 78% relative to “business as usual” in 2040. Even with immediate and concerted action, 710 million metric tons of plastic waste cumulatively entered aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. To avoid a massive build-up of plastic in the environment, coordinated global action is urgently needed to reduce plastic consumption; increase rates of reuse, waste collection, and recycling; expand safe disposal systems; and accelerate innovation in the plastic value chain.

Formalizing the informal? A perspective on informal waste management in the BRICS through the lens of institutional economics

The world population is becoming more urbanized, wealthier but also more wasteful. The resolution of the problem of ever increasing amounts of solid waste is not yet a priority in many developing countries where informal organization has managed to partially tackle the problem. In this article we explore the interface between formal and informal waste management in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The aim of this article is to comparatively evaluate the main challenges of urban solid waste management for the BRICS from an institutional point of view. Based on a literature review, interviews with experts on the BRICS and a search for relevant legislation and formal institutions, evidence of informal institutions and the informal economy's role following New Institutional Economics was considered. The results indicate that while in Brazil and South Africa there is a state incentive to formalize scavenging for more efficient outcomes, Russia shows a significant blind-spot on the issue, China apparently awaits a technological solution to the problem, and India's cultural, ethnic and caste-based divide of society make recent policies aimed at improving waste pickers' conditions challenging to enforce. This research has shown that it is not as much an issue of enforcement of the (often recent) legislations, but rather one of cultural and informal organizational factors, that play into the issue of continued problems concerning waste management. For achieving waste management policy goals, we suggest a more open multi-stakeholder approach to the inclusion of informal organizations in public waste management.

Where Children Play: Young Child Exposure to Environmental Hazards during Play in Public Areas in a Transitioning Internally Displaced Persons Community in Haiti

Globally, gastrointestinal (GI) infections by enteric pathogens are the second-leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age (≤5 years). While GI pathogen exposure in households has been rigorously examined, there is little data about young children's exposure in public domains. Moreover, public areas in low-income settings are often used for other waste disposal practices in addition to human feces, such as trash dumping in areas near households. If young children play in public domains, they might be exposed to interrelated and highly concentrated microbial, chemical, and physical hazards. This study performed structured observations at 36 public areas in an internally displaced persons community that has transitioned into a formal settlement in Haiti. We documented how often young children played in public areas and quantified behaviors that might lead to illness and injury. Children ≤5 years played at all public sites, which included infants who played at 47% of sites. Children touched and mouthed plastic, metal and glass trash, food and other objects from the ground, ate soil (geophagia) and drank surface water. They also touched latrines, animals, animal feces and open drainage canals. Hand-to-mouth contact was one of the most common behaviors observed and the rate of contact significantly differed among developmental stages (infants: 18/h, toddlers: 11/h and young children: 9/h), providing evidence that children could ingest trace amounts of animal/human feces on hands that may contain GI pathogens. These findings demonstrate that water, sanitation and hygiene interventions could be more effective if they consider exposure risks to feces in public domains. Furthermore, this research highlights the need for waste-related interventions to address the broader set of civil conditions that create unsafe, toxic and contaminated public environments where young children play.

Occupational Health Hazard Exposure among municipal solid waste workers in Himachal Pradesh, India

The net volume of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated in Himachal Pradesh is 350 tons per day (TPD) with an annual growth rate varying between 1 and 1.33%. This leads to serious considerations regarding potential occupational health hazards of workers associated with MSW. The study generated from non-engineered landfill sites was carried out at three locations- Shimla, Solan, and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, India. . The main aim of this study was to determine existing occupational hazards in relation to MSW management at these locations, to coordinate with the different municipalities and suggest suitable remedial measures for our study locations. In particular, the exposure assessment to the work force comprising of street sweeping, waste collection, waste processing, and rag picking were assessed using an interview scheduling technique. A questionnaire survey was carried out on these workers with the questions asked related to their work culture, socio-economic conditions, general awareness of occupational health risks and related occupational health hazards associated with the work being performed by them. The results showed that the workforce mainly comprised of males with a low percentage of literacy rates. The age distribution showed that majority of waste collectors and street sweepers were above 30 years of age (67%) and that the rag pickers in Mandi town were below 20 years of age. Income variation between casual and regular workers was highly significant with regular workers (INR 600-1200; USD 9-18) getting almost six times the payment of the casual workers (INR 100-200; USD 3-7.5). From the studies conducted the study deduced that about 64% of waste collectors, 80% of street sweepers and 10% of rag pickers in Solan and about 6.67% street sweepers, 57.47% waste collectors and 100% of rag pickers in Mandi were not provided with any protective equipment. Interestingly, in the capital city of Shimla a small fraction of the street sweepers (28%) and waste collector (6%) confirmed that they were given protective equipment twice in a year. The lack of provisions of protective equipment along with the ignorance of the workers results in occupational health hazards due to different types of external injuries. The major occupational health issues reported by various categories of waste workers were muscle and ligament sprain, cuts and lacerations and different allergies varying between 1.97 and 66.67% [ for e.g. in Solan it varies from 32.47-66.67%; Shimla 1.97-10.16% and in Mandi 9.52-16.67%], 6.36-67.95% and 5.77-42.86%, respectively. From this study, it was observed that such workers are ill-protected against such occupational health hazards new laws and policies are needed to be introduced for their protection.

Occupational exposure to the municipal solid waste workers in Chandigarh, India

Manual handling of municipal solid waste is of serious concern owing to emerging occupational risks. Considering this, health risks of municipal solid waste workers involved in street sweeping, waste collection, waste processing and rag picking were assessed in Chandigarh, India, using an interview schedule as a study tool. Result shows that the waste worker profession is mainly dominated by males, except in rag pickers, and with a lower literacy rate. Age distribution shows that 16% of waste collectors and 11% of rag pickers were below 18 years of age. Daily income of the waste workers ranges from ₹100 to ₹200. It was observed that 22.2% of waste collectors, 43.2% of street sweepers and 25.5% of rag pickers do not use any type of protective gears owing to their casual attitude, which results in various types of injuries. The major occupational health issues reported by various categories of waste workers were respiratory disorders, injuries and allergies having prevalence of 12.3%-17.6%, 4.9%-44.4% and 35.3%-48.9%, respectively. Waste workers are vulnerable to occupational health hazards and hence there is a need to safeguard them through formulation of new laws and policies.

Street vending and waste picking in developing countries: a long-standing hazardous occupational activity of the urban poor

Uncontrolled urbanization in developing countries has led to widespread urban poverty and increased susceptibility to environmental exposures owing to the hazardous occupational activities of the urban poor. Street vending and waste picking are the dominant works undertaken by the urban poor, and besides the physical hazards, it also exposes them to several pathogens and high levels of air pollutants present in the outdoor environment. The situation has severe consequences for the health of the workers. Eliminating these occupational activities from the urban landscape of developing countries should therefore receive urgent attention from the global health community and governments. In this article, we provide evidence to support this policy recommendation by documenting exposure experiences of the workers, the associated adverse health effects, whilst also outlining measures for addressing the problem sustainably. We conclude that with the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDG), governments now have a commitment to address poverty and the associated occupational health hazards experienced by the poor through their choices to help achieve the health-related SDG target (3.9) of substantially reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination by 2030.

Review of past research and proposed action plan for landfill gas-to-energy applications in India

Open dumps employed for disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) are generally referred to as landfills and have been traditionally used as the ultimate disposal method in India. The deposition of MSW in open dumps eventually leads to uncontrolled emission of landfill gas (LFG). This article reviews the MSW disposal practices and LFG emissions from landfills in India during the period 1994 to 2011. The worldwide trend of feasibility of LFG to energy recovery projects and recent studies in India indicate a changed perception of landfills as a source of energy. However, facilitating the implementation of LFG to energy involves a number of challenges in terms of technology, developing a standardized framework and availability of financial incentives. The legislative framework for promotion of LFG to energy projects in India has been reviewed and a comprehensive strategy and action plan for gainful LFG recovery is suggested. It is concluded that the market for LFG to energy projects is not mature in India. There are no on-ground case studies to demonstrate the feasibility of LFG to energy applications. Future research therefore should aim at LFG emission modeling studies at regional level and based on the results, pilot studies may be conducted for the potential sites in the country to establish LFG to energy recovery potential from these landfills.

Health risk reduction behaviors model for scavengers exposed to solid waste in municipal dump sites in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of comprehensive health risk protection behaviors, knowledge, attitudes, and practices among scavengers in open dump sites. A control group of 44 scavengers and an intervention group of 44 scavengers participated in this study. Interventions included the use of personal protective equipment, health protection training, and other measures. The analysis showed significant differences before and after the intervention program and also between the control and intervention groups. These observations suggest that further action should be taken to reduce adverse exposure during waste collection. To reduce health hazards to workers, dump site scavenging should be incorporated into the formal sector program. Solid waste and the management of municipal solid waste has become a human and environmental health issue and future research should look at constructing a sustainable model to help protect the health of scavengers and drive authorities to adopt safer management techniques.