Sustainable Solid Waste Management In A Mountain Ecosystem

ABSTRACT Yercaud is a hill station in Salem District, in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the Shevaroys range of hills in the Eastern Ghats; the Yercaud hill area is called the Shevaroy Hills. The objectives of this project were: 1) to describe and explain the current waste management system and practices in Yercaud; 2) to identify factors that influence waste management in Yercaud, 3) to assess the newly proposed solid waste management system , and 4) to propose recommendations for development of a sustainable solid waste management system. The objectives were addressed primarily through semi-structured interviews and discussions with various stakeholders along with non-participatory method tools. The study analyzed the current solid waste management system and identified the strengths and the weaknesses of the system. It was observed that the current solid waste management system practiced in Yercaud is unsustainable. There is no provision for the segregation of waste. The collection and transportation of waste is inadequate and inappropriate. Officially, there is no provision for composting or recycling of the waste. Majority of the waste is dumped in open landfill and people are not involved in solid waste decision making process or the solid waste management system. Further, the study also analyzed the newly proposed solid waste management system. It was found that the newly proposed system is better than the existing system; the new proposal outlines a framework of two stream waste segregation system. The proposed waste collection and transportation system is an improvement on the current system. Composting of biodegradable waste is an important feature of the proposal. The proposed system, however, omitted critical points which need to be addressed in order to develop a sustainable solid waste management system.