A STUDY AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR PANCHAYAT UNIONS IN COIMBATORE DISTRICT UNDER THE CONTEXT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE RULES

Currently, the major challenges for municipalities and panchayats are handling of rapid increase in solid wastes owing to rapid growth of population and changing life styles has resulted in increased waste generation. Solid waste management which was hitherto an urban problem has become a major challenge of the rural local bodies. Due to non-availability of adequate expertise and experience these local bodies lack technical, managerial, administrative, financial resources, adequate institutional arrangements suffer handling of solid waste management which resulting into creation of environmental pollution and health hazards. Consequently, waste management has become a key issue needing to be addressed. A local body at panchayat union has the responsibility of handling of Solid Waste. Solid waste management strategies adopted by the local bodies include management of Solid Waste at compost depot, segregation of waste into degradable and non-degradable, management of biomedical waste, conversion of waste into wealth, and implementation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules. With increase in population, there has been a rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by each household. This waste is ultimately thrown into panchayat waste collection centers were collected and segregated for conversion and the residual thrown into the landfills and dumps. However, either due to resource crunch or inefficient infrastructure, not all of this waste gets collected and transported to the final dumpsites. If at this stage the management and disposal is improperly done, it can cause serious impacts on health and problems to the surrounding environment. This research identify, implement, and/or maintain programs for ensuring that solid wastes are managed in accordance with Municipal Solid Waste rules in a manner that protects public health, safety, identify and implement emerging methods for improved management, emphasize the development and implementation of the most efficient technologies for waste reduction, create wealth by reuse/recycling and create an efficient and effective system of waste stream measurement and monitoring.