Recently, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has proposed a Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cess of ₹100 per month for each household. 

Solid Waste Management Cess

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) levy user fees or SWM cess as per the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. 

• According to these guidelines, ULBs must collect user fees/cess for SWM services provisions provided. While there is no specified rate, ULBs typically charge about ₹30-50 per month as SWM cess, which is collected along with property tax. 

About Solid Waste Management

• Waste Management: This process reduces or eliminates the negative impact on the environment and human health.
  • Effective waste management for a municipality involves several processes, including monitoring, collection, transport, processing, recycling, and disposal.
• Components of Solid Waste Management: SWM services broadly consists of four components: collection, transportation, processing and disposal. 
  • ULBs typically package collection and transportation together, and processing and disposal together.
  • Collection and transportation are resource and labour-intensive and consumes up to 85-90% of the SWM budget, whereas only about 10-15% is spent on processing and disposal of waste.
• Data on Solid Waste Generation: Solid waste generated in Indian cities consists of about 55-60% wet biodegradable material and 40-45% non-biodegradable material. 
  • The portion of recyclable material in the dry waste is minimal, only about 1-2%, with the rest being mostly non-recyclable and non-biodegradable waste. 
  • Although 55% of the wet waste can be converted into organic compost or biogas, the yield is as low as 10-12%, making both composting and biogas generation from solid waste financially unviable.

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Components of Solid Waste

• Construction and Demolition Waste: Wastes generated from the construction of new buildings, renovation, and demolition activities.
• Plastic Waste: Includes items such as polythene bags and plastic bottles.
• Biomedical Waste: Wastes produced during diagnosis, treatment, and immunisation, including human and animal anatomical waste, treatment apparatus like needles and syringes, and cytotoxic drugs.
• Hazardous Waste: Wastes that pose an immediate danger to individuals or the environment upon exposure.
• E-Waste: Includes discarded items such as computer monitors, motherboards, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), mobile phones and chargers, compact discs, and headphones.

Methods of Solid Waste Management

• Landfill: It involves burying the waste in vacant locations around the cities.
• Incineration: It involves high-temperature oxidation (burning/thermal treatment) of primarily organic compounds that produce thermal energy, CO2 and water.
• Pyrolysis:  Solid is converted into a liquid state and the liquid is converted into gas. Products can then be used for the production of energy.
• Gasification: The material to be treated is directly converted into SynGas (synthetic gas) which has hydrogen and carbon dioxide as its components.
• Bioremediation: It is the use of living organisms, primarily microorganisms, to degrade environmental contaminants into less toxic forms.
  • These techniques are more economical than traditional methods and pollutants can be treated on-site, thus reducing exposure risks for personnel.
• Phytoremediation: It’s a plant-based sustainable, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly technology. It uses plants to get rid of contaminants from the environment.
• Vermiculture: Also known as Earthworm farming. Earthworms are added to the compost. These worms break the solid waste and along with the earthworms’ excreta, the compost becomes rich in nutrients.

Solid Waste Management Rules 2016

• Source segregation of waste: Rules have mandated the source segregation of waste to channelise the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse and recycling.
• Waste generator: It will have the responsibility of segregating the waste into wet, dry and Hazardous.
• Waste processing facilities: They will have to be set up by all local bodies having 1 million or more population within two years.
• Waste Management Fees: The new rules empower local bodies across India to determine user fees. Municipal authorities will impose user fees for the collection, disposal, and processing of waste from bulk generators. 
  • According to the rules, waste generators must pay a “User Fee” to the waste collector and may face a “Spot Fine” for littering and failing to segregate waste, with the amounts being set by the local bodies.
• Integration: The integration of rag pickers, waste pickers and kabadiwalas from the informal sector to the formal sector by the state government.
• Development: Developers of Special Economic Zone, industrial estate, and industrial park to earmark at least 5 % of the total area of the plot for recovery and recycling facility.
• Segregation: Mandatory Segregation of biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous waste.
• Prohibition: Burning of Solid Waste has been prohibited.
• Collect Back scheme for packaging waste: Brand owners who sell or market their products in non-biodegradable packaging material, should put in place a system to collect back the packaging waste generated due to their production.
• Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities: It will encourage  the cities with a spirit of healthy competition to improve their overall cleanliness and allow multiple cities to be awarded the same star rating.
  • The major focus in the ratings is on waste storage and litter bins.
• Online database: launched to capture the progress of states and cities on their SBM components, thereby enhancing the robustness and transparency of Mission monitoring.

Operational and Revenue Challenges of Solid Waste Management in India

• Unsustainable Funding: Operational revenue from waste processing facilities covers only about 35-40% of operational expenses, with the rest subsidised by the ULB.
• Funding Mechanism: Most wet waste processing facilities operate on either tipping fees, paid by the government to the plant operator to meet the operational deficits, or funds allocated from the municipality’s general expenditure.
• Budget Strain on ULBs: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) face significant financial challenges in providing sustainable Solid Waste Management (SWM) services. Large cities like Bangalore spend a substantial portion of their budget on SWM (around 15%), yet revenue from these services is minimal. 
• Revenue Disparity: Smaller cities allocate even more of their budget to SWM but face similar revenue constraints. To bridge this gap, ULBs often levy SWM cess on waste generators to cover costs, ensuring essential waste management services can continue effectively despite financial pressures.
• Challenges in Urban Solid Waste Management: ULBs face other challenges associated with SWM services, such as extra work of clearing open points and drains, preventing open littering, seasonal changes in waste generation, and sweeping operations
• Operating Challenges: Operating waste processing plants is more challenging due to a lack of financial viability, insufficient segregation at source, and a limited market for finished products.
  • Additionally, the disposal of non-compostable and non-recyclable dry waste, such as single-use plastic, textile waste and inert materials, is expensive since the material needs to be shipped to cement factories or waste-to-energy projects located about 400-500 km from cities.

Strategies to Reduce Operational Expenditure

• Segregation of waste at source: Encouraging and enforcing segregation of waste at the point of generation can increase the efficiency of composting operations by up to 20% and improve recycling rates for dry waste. 
  • This reduces the overall waste that needs to be transported and processed.
• Reducing single-use plastic: Single-use plastics are non-recyclable and bulky, increasing transportation costs for disposal. Initiatives to reduce the use of single-use plastics can lower operational expenses associated with waste management.
• Decentralised composting initiatives: Residents in urban areas often oppose large-scale composting facilities due to odour and leachate issues. 
  • Cities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have successfully implemented Micro Composting Centers (MCCs) at the ward level, processing wet waste locally and reducing transportation costs.
• Information, Education, and Awareness (IEC) campaigns: Investing in IEC programs to educate the public about proper waste disposal and the environmental impact of littering can reduce the manpower and resources currently allocated to sweeping roads and clearing drains.
• Encouraging bulk waste generators: Large institutions and businesses can be incentivized to manage their own waste through on-site processing facilities.
  • This approach not only reduces the burden on ULBs but also promotes cleaner and more sustainable waste management practices.

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