A Study On Solid Waste Management

Abstract

Waste is a byproduct of life. High standards of living and ever increasing population have resulted in an increase in the quantity of wastes generated. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is generally a combination of household and commercial refuse which is generated from the living community. Among the multitude of the environmental problem existing in the urbanizing cities of developing countries, MSW management and its impact on groundwater quality have become the most prominent in the recent years. In the developing countries the municipal solid wastes (MSW) are mainly disposed to the open landfills. Since it is the simplest, cheapest and most cost-effective method of waste disposal, this practice is also adopted in the developed countries to some extent. The increasing production of municipal solid waste world over is an important source of groundwater contamination for the unforeseeable future. This is due to an unscientific way of the dumping the solid wastes in an open area leading to the leachates which emerge out and percolate down to the aquifer. Characterization of the leachates is necessary in the assessment of ground water pollution near such disposal sites.