N Irabanta Singh
Introduction:
The author already expressed his opinion about organic wastes management for Khwairamband bazar( Imphal City) through vermitechnology (The Sangai Express, Imphal September 10,2016 issue). In this article, the author made an attempt how non-biodegradable solid wastes for Khwairamband bazar could be managed through the sincere effect of the Imphal Municipal Corporation.
Types of waste materials:
Broadly, the waste materials can be classified into two types, viz, (i) Bio-degradable waste (organic wastes), (ii) Non-biodegradable wastes.
Non-biodegradable wastes:
It refers to all highly stable inorganic compounds, salts and metals which do not decompose for a long time and remain in the ecosystem posing danger. And glasses remain unaffected by the elements of nature for a long time. The sources of non-biodegradable (Imphal city) consist of wastes from the bazar dwellers containing a variety of discarded materials like plastic bags, empty canes, glass bottles, torn clothes, etc. Similarly, wastes from the shops including wastes papers, packing materials, cans, plastic bags, etc. The problem of managing these non-biodegradable municipal solid wastes is growing day by day resulting direct threat to the public health and to the environment.
Waste generation:
The daily generation of wastes (bio-degradable and non-degradable) in the Khwairamband bazar are from the major sources such as commercial (58%), residential(35%), institutional(offices, banks, etc) (3%), biomedical wastes from the nursing homes(2%), and construction and demolition(2%) (rough estimation).
Collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal:
Collection of solid wastes in Khwairamband bazar lies with responsibility of Imphal Municipal Corporation. Different types of non-biodegradable solid wastes such as plastics, scrap, metal, bottles,etc(non-recyclable wastes) are generally segregated and either sold to rag pickers at household level scanvenged at disposal sites. The collection of Khwairamband bazar solid wastes are community bins as well as dumping sites. Specified capacity colour bins need to be supplied to collect segregated biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste of sources. Each and every bazar dwellers could be provided with two bins (green and blue) of 5 kg capacity free of cost-one for biodegradable and the other for non-biodegradable wastes for segregation of wastes at the household level. Wastes are to be collected early in the morning through pickup truck services provided by the Imphal Municipal Corporation where each household had to pay a fixed amount as sanitation fees for keeping bazaar clean. Spilage occurs during transportation of wastes as vehicles are to be crossed or properly sealed. Here hydraulic loading and unloading may be utilized.
Transportation of solid wastes collection from entrance to community bins or bulk dumping sites to community bins or bulk dumping sites can be performed to centralized processing sites. Transportation system should involves minimum manual handling and exposure to the wastes and processing of wastes. Transportation of wastes can also be done through hydraulic system.
Wastes are treated in the form of open burning at the household level provided facility is available or burnt in empty spaces. Current wastes treatment strategies are directed towards reducing the amount of solid wastes that need to be land filled as well as recovering and utilizing the materials present in the discarded wastes as a resource present in the possible extent. Different methods can be used for treatment of solid wastes and the choice of proper method depends upon refuse characteristics, land areas available and disposal cost. The different methods include incenetation, compaction, pyrolysis, gasification and composting for biodegradable wastes. Of all the techniques applied in wastes disposal, lad filling is the most simple and commonly used method in almost all states of India.
Discussion:
Solid wastes that is not properly managed may cause serious health hazard and lead to the spread of infectious diseases. Unattended wastes lying around attracts flies, rats and other creatures that in turn spread diseases. Proper solid wastes management have to be undertaken in the Khwairamband bazar areas to ensure that it does not affect the environment and not to cause health hazards to the people living around. Control measures of an integrated wastes management strategy which include three main components, viz source reduction, recycling and disposal of solid wastes.
Conclusion and recommendation:
Non-biodegradable solid wastes management system in Khwairamband bazar is bound to face many difficulties including low technical experience and financial resources which often cover only collection and transfer costs leaving no resources for safe final disposal.
However, the following steps are recommended for proper solid wastes management for Khwairamband bazar-(i) Disposal of wastes in the road, open spaces or vacant areas should be banned ; (ii) Providing litter bins at the public places such as auto stands, taxi stands and market places; (iii) Segregation of wastes( door to door collection) should be implemented; (iv) Regular wastes collection should be performed; (v) Municipality sweepers should be equipped with individual containerized wheel barrows, metal plate and tray along with long handled bamboo broom and protective gear; (vi) By administrative charges for littering on the roads; (vii) Mechanical containers should be used to enhance storage capacity; (viii) Abolition of open wastes storage sites and manual collection ;(ix) Upgrading of existing dumpsites; (x) Open burning of biomedical wastes should be prohibited and (xi) Public awareness strategies should be taken into consideration.
(The writer is former Professor of Life Sciences, Manipur University and former Dean, School of Life Sciences, MU. He can be contacted at irabanta.singh@gmail.com)
Source: The Sangai Express
