Effective Management of Aged Stockpiled Solid Wastes in India

The management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in rapidly developing economies such as India presents unique challenges as well as an opportunity to develop creative and technology-appropriate solutions, which are economically and socially sustainable in the long term. Aged wastes are defined in this paper as those municipal solid wastes which have been disposed of in dumpsites and landfills more than two decades ago. The recent 2016 fire at the Deonar dumpsite, which is the largest landfill in Mumbai, brought the spotlight on the urgent and emerging need to address the issue of aged wastes in an urban setting. This paper addresses the problem of handling and managing MSW in such settings and presents potential solutions with a focus on appropriate technological solutions. The efficacy and drawbacks of applying conventional solid waste management solutions from developed economies such as in Europe and the USA to the Indian situation are discussed. The management approaches discussed in this research may be of some relevance in the situations where the wastes are to be mined from old landfills in the USA.