22-09-2014, 01:42 PM
Abstracts: The improvement of solid waste management is one of the greatest challenges faced by the Indian Government. The Government and the local municipal authorities have taken many initiatives towards the improvement of the current situation. The private sector has been included in the management of the municipal solid waste recently. To understand the level of success in these initiatives, it is necessary to carry out an audit. An audit will identify and bring out the lacuna and the loopholes in the current system in regard to various environmental management aspects like the compliance with environmental regulations, occupational health, resource management, pollution prevention systems and occupational health and safety. This could be one of the best ways to increase awareness about the most suitable approaches to municipal solid waste management, the issues likely to be faced and the alternative measures that can be adopted considering the local scenario. This work provides a case study on an audit of the municipal solid waste management, to disseminate the innovative practices that have been adopted in the municipal solid waste management program. The study will explore the role of various stake holders in MSWM, the current practices, the role of each entity, the shortcomings of the current practices and issues to be addressed to improve the condition. In its scope, solid waste management includes all administrative, financial, legal, planning, and engineering functions involved in the whole spectrum of solutions to problems of solid wastes thrust upon the community by its inhabitants. Solid wastes have the potential to pollute all the vital components of living environment (i.e., air, land and water) at local and at global levels. The problem is compounded by trends in consumption and production patterns and by continuing urbanization of the world. The problem is more acute in developing nations than in developed nations as the economic growth as well as urbanization is more rapid. This issue has now received the attention by international and national policy making bodies and citizens. In the international level the awareness regarding waste began in 1992 with the Rio Conference, here waste was made one of the priorities of Agenda 21*. Here specific attention was given to the environmentally sound management of solid wastes. The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable development in 2002 focused on initiatives to accelerate the shift to sustainable consumption and production, and the reduction of resource degradation, pollution, and waste. The priority was given to waste minimization, recycle, and reuse followed by the safe disposal of waste to minimize pollution.