Management of solid waste is one of the most pressing challenges faced by municipalities across the world. Increased consumption and improper disposal have led to the accumulation of solid waste in many urban areas, resulting in detrimental impacts on the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. In particular, coastal areas that accommodate over 60% of the global population face severe deficits in solid waste management, resulting in far-reaching impacts on water quality and the fragile marine ecosystem. The commonly adopted practices of uncontrolled burning, open dumping and unscientific landfilling contribute to significant emissions of greenhouse gases, leading to global warming and climate change. This article discusses the development and performance evaluation of a decentralized technology for management and resource recovery from solid waste generated in coastal areas, with increased resilience to climate change, by mitigating the greenhouse gas emission arising from the scenario of open dumping. The coastal village of Vichoor (Tamil Nadu, India) was selected as the study area, and the quantity and composition of waste generation were assessed. Baseline studies revealed an absence of systematic solid waste management in the study area. Organic fraction contributed to over 55% of the generated waste. An integrated municipal solid waste management scheme was devised, involving primary source segregation, collection, secondary segregation and resource recovery. Infrastructural provision for composting organic waste in a composting yard was adopted, which also doubled as a secondary segregation unit. Methane emission was assessed for scenarios involving open dumping of waste and windrow composting of the organic fraction. A reduction of 316.29 kg CO2 eq/T of waste was observed by adopting the proposed practices over open dumping, thus proving to be a potential solution to combat climate change due to greenhouse gas emission from solid waste management. Long-term sustainability of the system was ensured by active community level participation and revenue generated from the sale of recyclable inorganic fraction and the generated compost.
Strategies for Adaptation of Solid Waste Management Infrastructure in Coastal Areas to Climate Change
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
International Conference on Hydraulics, Water Resources and Coastal Engineering ; 2021 December 23, 2021 - December 25, 2021
2023-06-06
16 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
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