Sustainability of Modern Scientific Waste Compacting Stations in the City of Kolkata

Kolkata is one of oldest and largest metropolitan city in eastern part of India with population of 4,486,679 and population density of 24252 per km2. The city of Kolkata generates almost 5500 ton of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day. The waste of the city is maintained by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and around 80% of this waste is collected by corporation waste management system KMC has introduced the Modern Scientific Waste Compacting Stations (MSWCS) under the Clean City initiative. The MSW thus collected were taken to the nearest compactor station which houses around two to five compactors depending upon the area, in total there are 90 compactors and 30 mobile compactors functioning till date. The number is expected to go up by the end of 2015 to 163 compactors at a cost of INR 152 crore. The previous method of dumping in open Vat was unhygienic and produced odor and vector born diseases in the vicinity and the people living near were largely affected. Though the addition of compactor has enhanced the cleanliness of the city but the sustainability of these waste compactors is a major issue and which is needed to be addressed. The disposal of the compacted waste is still being carried out in traditional landfill site and the landfill site and city distance being smaller raise a question on transportation savings which may have been incurred due to the compactor thus the payback period and long-term sustainability of the compactor is in question. The sustainability issues and challenges were identified based on a preliminary field study in 15 of the compactor station in Kolkata. The waste quantity, waste characteristics, number of trip of the compactors, labors requirements and number of other sustainability factors were evaluated. The data collected were benchmarked based on the literature, with the practices of other countries. The study reveals that there is number of issues which are lacking and needed to be implemented within the waste compactor management system to make the project sustainable in long run. The analysis revealed the need for a sanitized landfill site for methane extraction and segregation of waste before compacting for increasing the sustainability of the system. The studies finding if implemented can led to a more sustainable, economical and environmentally sound waste management system for the city of Kolkata. There are number of literature specific to waste management practices but specific study for waste compactor in a city and for Kolkata is unavailable in literature.