Municipal Solid Waste Management in Bangalore and the Concept of Mini Biogas Plant in Urban Localities

Suchitra Ramesh, Asif Usman, Adil Usman*, Divakar B.P

Reva Institute of Technology and Management

adil_usman009@yahoo.co.in*

ABSTRACT: Municipal solid waste management

(MSWM) is one of the major environmental problems of

Indian cities. Solid waste is defined as the material, which

arises from various human activities and which is

normally discarded as useless and unwanted. Improper

management of municipal solid waste (MSW) causes

hazards to inhabitants. Various studies reveal that about

90% of MSW is disposed off unscientifically in open

dumps and landfills, creating problems to public health

and the environment. In the present paper a survey of

case studies conducted on MSWM in few cities across

India is reviewed to gain insight into solid waste

management. Several data concerning SWM in

Bangalore has been collected to understand the problems

being faced by Bangaloreans. An exclusive survey is

carried out within the campus of Reva Institute of

Technology, Bangalore to quantify the waste generation

and to come up with a feasible SWM solution which can

be implemented within the campus.

Index Terms: Municipal solid waste management

(MSWM), Agricultural waste, Waste-To-Energy (WTE),

Geographical Information System (GIS)

I. INTRODUCTION

The generated waste consists of many types which

are not segregated at the source in majority of cities

across India. Although few municipalities have taken

measures for bringing awareness to general

community about segregation of wastes, no

significant improvement has been achieved in waste

management. People discard wastes of all types

which are then collected for disposal. Majority of

solid wastes end up in landfills and thus create health

hazards due to unplanned and unscientific methods

followed in waste disposals. Due to rapid growth,

urban areas are facing severe shortage of landfills and

as a result the community at large is now at the risk

of hazards due to delay in waste disposals. The city

of Bangalore, once a pensioner’s paradise, has come

to known lately as “garbage city” thanks to garbage

pileups owing to lack of landfills. Open dumping of

garbage breeds flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats,

and other pests that spread diseases. Unfortunately

Solid waste management did not receive attention it

deserved until now. It was never taken seriously

either by public, concerned agency or authorities. The

community has woken up from its slumber now and

desperately looking for some miracle to address the

issue. In this paper the earlier case studies conducted

[1]-[3] on Aurangabad, Manipur and Kolkata are

reviewed and few statistical data concerning Solid

Waste Management in Bangalore collected to

understand the problem. As a case study, a survey of

generation and waste management within the campus

of Reva Institute of Technology, situated in the IT

city Bangalore is carried out to come up with a

sustainable waste management system within the

campus. The case study conducted throws some light

on the amount of waste generation as well as its

management.

Objectives:

To bring awareness on SWM at local level

To highlight the establishment of local potable

mini biogas plants.

To involve youth in the campus to address the

global problem.

Methodology:

As the topic is new, the team members decided to

collect literature review of SWM practices in Indian

cities to understand the widespread practices across

India. Few data regarding SWM in Bangalore city

and in the campus of REVA ITM, Bangalore were

collected.

II. MSW disposals and treatment

Composting (aerobic composting and vermi-

composting) and waste-to-energy (WTE)

(incineration, biomethanisation), are the two leading

waste disposal mechanisms being adopted in India

[1]. WTE mechanism for disposal of MSW is a

relatively new concept in India. Although these have

been tried and tested in developed countries with

positive results, these are yet to get off the ground in

India largely because of the fact that financial

viability and sustainability is still being tested.

Different methods for the disposal and treatment of

MSW are discussed belo w.

978-1-4799-2402-8/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 468 IEEE 2013 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference

a. Biodegradation: [7]

Biodegradation is a biological way of recycling the

wastes where decaying process is carried out by

bacteria, fungi, insects, worms, and other organisms

that eat dead material and recycle it into new forms.

Through composting, we accelerate natural

biodegradation and convert wastes to a valuable

resource. This kind of elimination of waste can be

carried out only with organic waste which is about

76% of total waste [5 ].

b. Automated solid waste processing [7]:

The decision to implement solid waste collection

automation is a complex one and involves a number

of factors that should be considered, including

engineering, risk management, technology

assessment, costs, and public acceptance yet has a lot

of advantages for both residents as well as the

municipal corporation but at the same time, it

increases the risk factor involved in safety and health

issues of the solid waste collection workers.

c. Incineration [7]:

Incineration is a waste treatment process that

involves the combustion of organic substances

contained in waste materials. Incineration of waste

materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and

heat. The ash is mostly formed by

the inorganic constituents of the waste, and may take

the form of solid lumps or particulates carried by the

flue gas. The heat generated by incineration can be

used to generate electric power. Incineration with

energy recovery is one of several waste-to-energy

technologies such as gasification, plasma arc

gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion.

Advantages:

Incineration is an efficient way to reduce the waste

volume and the demand for landfill space.

Incineration plants can be located close to the waste

generation centre, thus reducing the cost of waste

transportation.

Disadvantages: An incineration plant involves heavy

investments and high operating costs.

d. Recycling [7]:

It is a process of converting materials (waste) into

new products to prevent waste of potentially useful

materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw

materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution

(from incineration) and water pollution

(from landfilling) by reducing the need for

"conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse

gas emissions.

Waste recycling has some significant advantages that

it leads to less utilization of raw materials, reduces

environmental impacts arising from waste treatment

and disposal, makes the surroundings cleaner and

healthier, saves on landfill space and finally saves

money.

e. Membrane Bioreactors [7]:

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is the combination of

a membrane process like microfiltration or ultra

filtration with a suspended growth bioreactor, and is

now widely used for municipal and industrial

waste treatment.

III. CASE STUDIES OF MAJOR STUDIES

Case studies on SWM in major cities of India have

been reported [1]-[3]. A summary of the findings are

given below:

a. Aurangabad City :

The report suggests that Aurangabad has experienced

serious environment degradation on account of direct

disposal of solid wastes. The city is now being

assisted by Geographical Information System (GIS) a

tool to support the planning of waste management.

GIS has helped to manipulate data to simulate

alternatives and to take the most effective decisions.

But several problems still persists- GIS gave the

information only at the point of interests like waste

bins and open dumps ignoring the other filthy areas.

GIS was not reliable during bad weathers and the

heavy cost factor is another bane to the prospect [1 ].

Economy criteria consideration, environmentally

sensitive areas consideration, identification of

recyclable waste generating areas and flexibility in

model further added to the problem of using GIS [ 1].

2. Kolkata City:

Taking the extract from the case study done by the

reference it is seen that, maintaining the quantities of

MSW in Kolkata is a tedious task. The major

problems faced by the city are: process of segregating

the waste, large number of open vats, low efficiency

of waste transport system with aged vehicles, low

collection efficiency in newly added areas, improper

recycling unit and many other factors. Due to

climatic factors like high temperature and humidity

along with high organic matter content, MSW

decomposes rapidly resulting in unhygienic

conditions. Hence in most areas, collection has to be

done on a daily basis. A system for collecting and

storage of solid waste is implemented by Kolkata

Municipal Corporation (KMC). Composting

methodology is practiced for treatment of solid waste

[2]. This method is only applicable for organic waste

and is the flaw seen in this practice.

3. Manipur City:

Taking the extract from the case study done by the

reference it is seen that management of the large

quantities of MSW in Manipur city is generally

carried out by collection, segregation, storage,

transportation and disposal which is the same

methodology as followed by Kolkata.

Thus analyzing the above methodologies practiced in

the three cities, it is seen that most of the practices

implemented have limitations either because the

methods are waste specific or improper executions.

The following paragraph discusses SWM

implemented in Bangalore.

4. Bangalore (SWM) Statistics

Solid Waste Management in Bruhat Bangalore

Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)

Relevant data and statistics were collected from

various sources and officials of BBMP regarding the

solid waste management prevailing in the entire city.

Bangalore has a total area of about 800sq.kms with a

population of 80 lakh. Bangalore is divided into 8

zones and 198 municipal wards which include about

25 lakh household and 3.5 lakh commercial

properties. The per capita waste generated is about

350 grams per day which is merely domestic waste.

[5 ]

a. Physical composition of MSW (%):

Table I Physical Composition of MSW in percentage

[5]

Serial Number Product Percentage

1. Vegetable 0.30

2. Paper 0.09

3. Plastic 0.12

4. Cardboard 0.04

5. Textiles 0.04

6. Grass/leaves/wood 0.06

7. Leather 0.00

8. Battery 0.00

9. Electronic item 0.02

10. Metal 0.01

11. Organic 0.23

12. Glass 0.03

13. Debris 0.05

14. Biomedical 0.02

TOTAL 1.00

.

Nearly 54% of total waste constitutes household

wastes and rest contributes waste generated from

other sources. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste

is analyzed and interpreted in Table I and Table II as

shown. Following the above mentioned statistics, it is

analyzed that 70% of MSW activity has been

outsourced and 30% is managed by BBMP.

Collection of waste takes place on a door-to-door

basis using pushcarts and auto tippers. This forms the

primary collection of waste, where waste is collected

in unsegregated form as the on-site segregation is not

practiced.

b. Chemical composition of MSW (%):

Table II Chemical Composition of MSW in

percentage. [5]

Sl. No Constitue

nt/Propert

y

Minimu

m

Maximum

1. C 13.00 42.60

2. N 0.28 1.23

3. P2O5 0.46 0.92

4. K2O 0.45 1.07

5. Moisture% 13.80 40.90

Secondary collection and transportation includes

compactors, tipper-lorries, mechanical sweepers etc.

The waste collected from households is shifted to the

treatment sites through trucks. Thus, the

unsegregated waste reaches the processing plants.

Few plants are established for composting the organic

waste as well as recycling of plastic, metals etc. Dry

waste collection centers are set up for recycling the

dry materials like plastic, paper, glass and metals. In

Bangalore there are few BBMP established

processing and disposing sites as mentioned below

table:

Table III BBMP established processing and disposing

sites [5]

Sl.n

o

Name of

the project

Capacity

of plant

Technology

adopted 1 M/s

Ramky

600MTP

D

Aerobic

Composting and

scientific land fill 2 M/s

S.G.R.R.L

100MTP

D

Waste to energy

(composting) 3 M/s

Terrafirm

a

100MTP

D

vermincomposting

, biomethanisation

The statistical data of SWM in Bangalore is

presented Figure 1. The percentage wise division

clearly depicts how much waste is being land filled,

recycled and composted and finally and how much is

recovered in terms of energy.

Fig. 1 Pie Chart of SWM of Bangalore [5].

From the above information collected from BBMP,

following advantages can be summarized.

Advantages:

1. About 8% of waste plastic is segregated which can

be used in the construction of pavement roads.

2. Bangalore is practicing the conversion of plastics

into diesel by following depolymerization technology

on a small scale. If this is implemented on a larger

scale, then 100% management of solid waste can be

achieved in the city.

Even though BBMP has made segregation of wastes

at the source mandatory, majority of localities

continue to dump unsegregated wastes. Unless a

stricter law comes into effect, the initiative by BBMP

will not become successful.

IV. Case study within the college campus

A survey was conducted within the college campus

of Reva Institute of Technology and Management,

situated in Northern Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The

college is situated in the outskirts of the city having

pleasant ambience with thirty six acres of area. The

campus has twelve blocks including academic block,

administrative block, residential quarters and hostels

for students. The total strength of the students within

campus is around 5000, in which ration of boys to

girls is 3:2, while the number of faculties is around

300. Huge amount of waste is generated due to the

activities within the campus. The waste generated in

kgs can be estimated to around 300kgs, which is very

high and unbelievable. Thus a survey was done

within the campus and following statistics were

collected and tabulated in Table IV.

The major part of the waste constitutes food,

vegetables, paper, plastic and glass. The daily

average generation of food wastes comes to about 7-

8%.This waste is taken every two days for

incineration far away from city. The fallen dry leaves

in the campus are used as fuels for cooking by the

workers. The ashes in turn become waste. Solid

waste generated from canteens and college is later

dumped and burnt behind the campus. The smoke

thus generated is a cause for pollution and health

hazard.

Table IV Waste constituents

Sl.No Constituent Percentage %

1 Vegetable & fruit

waste from mess and

canteen

17.0

2 Paper 15.0

3 Plastic 7.0

4 Food 12.5

5 Grass/leaves/wood 9.0

6 Chemicals from

laboratories

8.5

7 Textile 2.0

8 Leather 1.5

9 Electronic items 5.5

10 Metals 8.5

11 Organic 9.5

12 Debris 4.0

TOTAL 100

Proposal: The survey carried out has thrown light on

the problems with waste management system being

practiced and the lack of awareness among people.

This motivated us to explore further to look for

practices to mitigate the problem at the local level.

One such solution was found in [6] which discussed

mini bio-gas plants.

V. Mini Biogas plants in urban/rural

municipal locality.

Paper [6] discusses the application of mini biogas

plants of 200 liters proposed by Bio-based Energy

Laboratory, of Kathmandu valley. The cost of it is

about 60$ and quite affordable if few houses make a

joint venture.

The typical features of a mini digester are given

below:

Fig. 2 Proposed Biogas plant with its operating parts

The above figure shows the bio digester which is

different from the one used in Kathmandu Valley.

The construction features and operations are briefly

given here [5].

Construction

The fixed-dome plant consisting of a biodigester (2)

where fixed non movable gas is stored. The gas is

stored in the upper part of the digester. When gas

production commences, the slurry is displaced into

the compensating tank (3). Gas pressure increases

with the volume of gas stored, therefore the volume

of the digester should be limited. Mixing tank (1)

with inlet pipe is provided where one can dump the

waste every alternate day, prior to which one cycle

should have completed in fifteen days at the

beginning. The gasholder (4) is provided along with

the gas pipe (5) as the outlet. The plant is provided

with the airtight gas seal (6). During the process of

gas formation there are number of levels involves

which include the formation of sludge (9) which is

precipitated at the bottom surface of the plant. The

stones and grits (10) too are separated and

accumulated at the bottom.

Process

The process of formation of gas takes place by the

action of putrefy active bacteria, which break down

organic material under anaerobic conditions. All feed

materials consisting of organic solids, inorganic

solids and water undergo the process of gas

formation biologically under the action of these

bacteria. Addition of water gives the substrate fluid

properties. It is easier for the putrefactive bacteria to

come into contact with feed material which is still

fresh when the slurry is in liquid state. This

accelerates the digestion (give the chemical name for

this process) process. Regular stirring thus speeds up

the gas production. Slurry with solids content of 5-

10% is particularly well suited to the operation of

continuous biogas plants.

The gas is stored in the upper part of the digester.

When gas production commences, the slurry is

displaced into the compensating tank. The gas so

produced can be transferred through gaslight seal

mounted securely on the wall to the kitchen.

Cost: As mentioned in [6], the cost of this proposed

digester is estimated to be less than US$50. The

Actual cost for installation within a campus

considering the benefits in terms of savings in

transportation cost (associated pollution) may be

justified. Moreover, the generation of bio-gas from

the organic waste can be used in canteens in the

campus.

The main advantage of this digester is the cost [6]

compared to the conventional digester. The mini bio-

digester has only one fiber tank unlike conventional

bio-digesters that use two tanks and hence is

economical for small locality. A detailed feasibility

report is ongoing to set up similar biodigesters in our

campus to address the global issue. Through this the

whole community will be engaged in waste

management.

VI. CONCLUSION

In this paper various methods of disposal and

treatment of solid waste is discussed in detail. The

various methods followed in Aurangabad, Kolkata

and Manipur city has been observed and their

drawbacks are noted down. A case study of SWM in

Bangalore city has been conducted. An attempt has

been made to collect data of waste management in

our college campus. From the study of various case

studies, it is felt that the mini bio gas plants could be

set up within our campus or in small localities to

recover energy from wastes. A detailed feasibility

report will be prepared with the help of MBA

department and the report will be submitted to the

management to consider setting up plants within the

campus. As there is a plan for setting up of new

campus, it is envisaged that the management take our

proposal into consideration.

VII. ACKNOWLEGEMENT

The authors acknowledge the support from Principal

and management of REVA ITM for this work.

Special gratitude is conveyed to the officials of

BBMP for providing the relevant current statistics.

VIII. REFERENCES

1. Shaikh Moiz Ahmed, Hassan Muhammad, Åke

Sivertun:Linköping, Solid Waste Management

Planning using GIS and Remote Sensing

Technologies Case Study Aurangabad City, India

University, Sweden.

2. Bidyut Kr. Bhattacharya, Swapan Das ,A Holistic

Approach for Integrated Solid Waste Management

System of Kolkata Municipality Corporation Area

Bengal Engineering & Science University, Shibpur,

Howrah, India.

3. Ch. Raghumani Singh and Mithra Dey, Solid

Waste Management of Thoubal Municipality,

Manipur- A Case Study

4. Biogas Plants by Ludwig Sasse.

5. Solid Waste Management in Bruhat Bangalore

Mahanagara Palike, Handbooks on Statistics, BBMP.

6. S. P. Lohani, A. Satyal, S. Timilsina, S. Parajuli, P.

Dhital,Energy Recovery Potential from Solid Waste

in Kathmandu Valley, Bio-based Energy Laboratory,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kathmandu

University, Dhulikhel, Nepal

7. Handbook on Biogas and its applications by Niir

Broad.