A BRIEF REPORT ABOUT CHARACTERISTICS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE, ITS HEALTH IMPACTS & AWARENESS OF HOUSEHOLDS ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN HYDERABAD CITY

The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management significantly contributes to the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and therefore management of this waste is vital for a healthy environment. Management of MSW has become a significant environmental problem especially in metropolitan cities. Pollution and health risks create by improper solid waste management are an important issue that is a cause of major worry to any government, especially in developing countries. Lack of awareness, infrastructure, planning and public awareness is surely the main culprits in this regard. No wonder waste management has become a herculean task for any metropolis. Technological development, globalization and population growth have accelerated the urbanization in developing countries. Due to sprawling urbanization and uncontrolled growth of population, Municipal Solid Waste Management has become a major problem in India (NEERI; Kumar et al., 2009). Municipal Solid Waste and economic development have a positive correlation in terms of kg / capita / day (Rajput et al., 2009). The composition and characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste vary throughout the world. Even within a country it changes from place to place as it depends on number of factors such as socio economic status, life styles, geographic location, etc (Sharholy et al., 2007; Benitez et al., 2008). Indian cities are now generating 8 times more municipal solid waste than they did in 1947. Presently, about 90 million tons of solid wastes are generated annually as byproducts of industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural and other activities. The per capita generation of MSW increased at a rate of 1 – 1.33% annually (Bhide and Shekdar, 1998; Shekdar, 1999; Pappu et al., 2007). Municipal Solid Waste Management has been a part of public health and sanitation and is entrusted to the municipalities for execution. Rapid urbanization in the last few decades has led to significant increase in municipal solid waste generation in India. In most cities of India, solid waste management is inefficient as systems adopted are primitive, tools and equipment outdated and inadequate & man power productivity is low. Processing and treatment of waste is limited and final disposal is in unscientific dumpsites, posing problems of soil & water contamination and air pollution. The Hyderabad city has made some efforts in the last few years to improve the municipal solid waste management (MSWM). However, there is still a need to make substantial improvements in the MSWM system of the city and make it in accordance with the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016 notified by Ministry of Environment and Forests. These rules lay down procedures for waste collection, segregation, storage, transportation, processing and disposal and further mandated all municipalities and corporations to set up suitable waste treatment and disposal facilities. The present study is aimed at characterizing the solid waste for planning 3R strategy in an effective manner. The public perception, health impacts and the role of rag pickers were also studied for 3 years i.e. 2012-2014