CHAPTER V

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The Solid Waste (SW) is a generic term used to describe the things we through away
that include garbage, refuse, trash, and others. The municipal solid waste consists of
solid waste from houses, streets and public places, shops, offices, and hospitals.
Management of these types of waste is most often the responsibility of municipal or
other governmental authorities. Although solid waste from industrial processes is
generally not considered municipal waste, it nevertheless needs to be taken into
account when dealing with solid waste because it often ends up in the MSW stream.
In urban areas, it is generated by domestic households, commercial and industrial
enterprises, and health care and institutional activities, as well as on the streets. Solid
wastes are all the wastes arising from human and animal activities that are normally
solid in nature and its management associated with all activities pertaining to the
control, collection, transportation, processing and disposal in accordance with the best
principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetics and other
environmental considerations. Hence, it includes all the procedures from the source
and final disposal which have least environmental effect that could be integrated by
any physical or technical or social activities. In other words, its management includes
all attendant administrative, financial, legal and engineering functions. Though waste
management is one of the important obligatory functions of the urban local authority,
lack of financial resources, institutional weakness, improper selection of technology,
transportation systems and disposal options, public’s apathy towards environmental
cleanliness and sanitation made this service unsatisfactory.

A typical waste management system in a developing economy includes several

components. They are waste generation and storage, segregation, reuse, and recycling
at the household level, primary waste collection and transport to a transfer station or
community bin, street sweeping and cleansing of public places, management of the
transfer station or community bin, secondary collection and transport to the waste
disposal site, waste disposal in landfills, collection, transport, and treatment of
recyclables at all points on the solid waste pathway (collection, storage, transport, and
disposal). In the past, these important components of waste management were often

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regarded only from an engineering and technical viewpoint. However, currently it is
realised that these elements are embedded in the local institutional, socio-cultural, and
economic context, which is further influenced by national politics, policies, and
legislation as well as national and global and economic factors. Hence, physical
handling of solid waste and recyclables (storage, collection, transport, treatment, and
so on) is just one SWM activity; it alone cannot fulfill the requirement for sustainable
and integrated solutions to this problem in the cities. But, obviously, other activities
are also equally important to note here:
• Making policy, as well as setting and enforcing standards and regulations
• Evaluating data on waste generation and characterization for the purposes of
Planning and adapting system elements
• Ensuring that workers and planners get training and capacity development
• Carrying out public information and awareness and education programs
• Identifying and implementing financial mechanisms, economic instruments, and
Cost-recovery systems
• Incorporating formal and informal elements of the private sector as well as
Community-based activities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
Factors in designing of Solid Waste Management Services (SWMS)
Various factors and issues are to be considered before proposing any kind of solid
waste managing practices. Briefly, they included:
a. Waste Amount and Composition
b. Access to Waste for Collection
c. Awareness and Attitudes
d. Institutions and Legislation.
Since these factors require both technical knowledge and policy decisions which
depend primarily upon the financial capacity and capital generation capability of the
urban local bodies, urban local governments finds difficult to ensure efficient
provision of the waste management services in the fast developing cities like
Mangalore Corporation. Further, since MSW collection schemes in the developing
cities of India are generally served only to a limited part of the urban population, the
inhabitants who are left without waste collection services are usually remains poor in
the low-income population regions. Added to these, lack of financial resources and
planning capacity to cope with increasing urban population growth affects the
availability or sustainability of a waste collection service. Operational inefficiencies,

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inappropriate technologies, or deficient management capacity of the institutions
involved also give rise to inadequate service levels.
Nature of Solid Waste Management Services in the Corporation Cities

In developing cities of developing countries even though the per capita waste
generation is low, changes in life styles and living conditions results in increased solid
waste generation. The average per capita generation of wastes in larger cities in India
is about 300 gms per day and the generation of per capita wastes in municipal cities
estimated to increase at the rate of 1 tol .33 percent annually.

The municipal solid waste management mechanism includes different components.

Its management services encompass the functions of collection, transfer, treatment,
recycling, resource recovery and disposal of municipal solid waste. Its scope
encompasses planning and management systems, waste generation processes, and
organizations, procedures and facilities for waste handling. Collecting, transporting
and disposing of waste management usually accounts for 30-50 percent of municipal
operational budgets.

In India several efforts are being made to popularize waste segregation and
composting in cities recently. Unfortunately, the different characteristics of the solid
wastes in the growing cities of our country revealed the fact that a self-sustaining
combustion reaction cannot be obtained in a majority of municipal solid wastes. In
fact the problems of huge expenditure requirement on solid waste disposal with very
poor efficiency, pollution due to the burning of waste, unorganized and poorly co­
ordinated transportation, resulting in excessive fuel usage and pollution generation,
loss of reusable/recyclable, material due to un segregated collection, unhygienic
condition leading to public health problem and spread of disease and dirty streets and
cities failing to attract foreign investments and markets etc compels the policy makers
to take best solutions at any way.
Study Area: Mangalore City Corporation (M.C.C)
In the light of experience of huge expenditure on solid waste disposal with very
poor efficiency by most of urban local bodies, pollution due to the burning of waste,
unorganized and poorly co-coordinated transportation resulting in excessive fuel
usage and pollution generation, loss of reusable/recyclable material due to un
segregated collection, unhygienic condition leading to public health problem and
spread of disease to local as well as global air pollution due to the uncollected and

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poorly disposed waste, dirty streets and cities failing to attract foreign investments
and markets, etc. management of solid waste management has gaining importance in
recent times.

Mangalore is the largest urban coastal centre for Karnataka and the fourth largest
city of the state. The city is an administrative, commercial, educational and industrial
centre. The total area covered 132.45 Sq Km., with 60 Wards. In the year 1980,
Mangalore City Municipality extended to an area was 22.70 Sq. Km. On 23/06/1980
City Municipality was upgraded to City Corporation. In the year 1997, Mulki was
separated from Mangalore City Corporation, the area was reduced to 115.16 Sq. Km.
In 2002, Bajal, Kannur and Tiruvail Town Panchayats were added to Mangalore City
Corporation and the area extended to 132.45 Sq. Km.

Significance and Limitations of the study

Although a few studies have been done on the problem of solid waste management
services in MCC area so far, this study of economic evaluation of the solid waste
management services was undertaken to explore the different economic as well some
regional dimensions of the problem of waste management facing the city area like
Mangalore. Although gathering and compiling sufficient information both at the
primary and secondary level, at the time of detailed field survey, attention was given
on both economic and administrative machinery exists in the study area. Importantly
the major economic constraints faced by the city administration in financing then
waste services also looked carefully. Keeping in view all these facts, the study tried to
examine very closely the exact mechanism that operate and the major constraints at
different stages of waste collection, its process and also its deposal sites. Above all,
the need for an efficient sustainable solid waste management system in the growing
coastal Corporation City of Karnataka and suitable policy guidelines
/recommendations was given much priority in the study.

However, despite the careful effort and attention paid during the every stage of
collecting literature as well required data base, both primary and secondary
throughout the study period, at some level it was unfortunate to generate a detailed
account of the waste generated by hospitals and the exact methodology adopted by
such units and the expenditure incurred even by the commercial units. Similarly, the
difficulties encountered to trace the secondary sources of information at the official

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level can not be ignored. Thus, with these efforts the study has brought out most
acceptable and suitable policy solutions to the participants who take up the
responsibility of managing solid waste and who generate wastes at different stages.
The process and the mechanism of solid waste management services
The present nature of mechanisms of SWM in Mangalore is undergoing wider
changes due to increase in the waste generation, diverse nature of economic activities
and consumption patterns among the urban residents. Promoting human health and
reduce the economic losses of improper and ineffective management of solid waste is
considered not only an important aspect of human resource development but also the
goal of environmental protection. Currently, an effective management of urban waste
is required, but urban local governments in many of the Indian cities are constrained
by limited finance and inadequate managerial staff also. Despite spending of 30 to
50% of their total budget on solid waste management (SWM) services, the urban local
bodies are unable to provide satisfactory services.
Average per capita generation of wastes in large cities in India is about 0.5 kg per
day which means that a city of 4 million would generate about 2000 tones per day of
domestic solid waste. These wastes are collected, transported and disposed in an
environmentally sound manner; otherwise these wastes leads in the spread of
communicable diseases which in turn cause obnoxious conditions and spoils the
biosphere as a whole. The larger proportion of organic matter in MSW indicates the
desirability of biological processing of waste. Characteristics of the Indian MSW
bring out the fact that a self sustaining combustion reaction cannot be obtained in a
majority of Indian MSW and auxiliary fuel will be required to aid waste combustion.
MSWM in India falls under the public health and sanitation and hence as per the
Indian Constitution is a State responsibility. This service has always been within the
public domain until very recently, that the waste management services started being
privatised. The activity being local in nature has been given to local municipal
authorities that provide this service with its own staff, equipment and funds. In the
study area it has been observed that the households, commercial sectors and other
kinds of activities generate the solid wastes
The Supreme Court committee suggested that the per capita waste generation for the
cities of population less than 0.5 million could be 220 grams and 350 grams for
population between 0.5 to 1 million. However, in case of the study area, the status
was quite interesting and it was observed that although the present population of

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Mangalore is less than 0.5 million, the high education levels and the forward looking
lifestyle experiences revealed a high rate of waste generation of 350 grams per capita;
hence the waste generation rate for Mangalore City Corporation was about 140 tons
per day as per the Supreme Court suggested estimation. At present the area coming
under the jurisdiction of Mangalore City Corporation produces an average of 175
tones of waste per day including construction debris and street sweeping wastes. Out
of which, Mangalore sub-division area generates an average of 146.20 TPD of wastes
and Surathkal sub-division area generates wastes of about 28.80 TPD.
The Health Department under the MCC undertakes the assignment of solid waste
management. Waste, which has not collected by MCC, is illegally dumped in the
streets and drains and also disposed in near by areas to the waste generation sector.
The Mangalore Corporation area is having three dump sites for waste disposal among
these three, Moodushedde dump site is 10 km away from the city, all types of waste
including hospital, industrial, and slaughter house etc, both hazards and non-
hazardous waste disposed in this dumping site.
As per MSW Rules 2000, the waste should be collected from Door to Door in
residential areas. The scope of work involved in Street sweeping components is:
• Roadside drain cleaning
• Cleaning of road Medians
• Removal of road side and drain side vegetation
• Cleaning of foot path
• Cleaning of silt from drains and roads
• Clearance of litterbins
The scope of work involved in street sweeping is as follows:
• Street sweeping
• Road side drain cleaning
• Cleaning of road Medians
• Removal of road side and drain side vegetation
• Cleaning of silt from drains and roads
• Clearance of litter bins
• Open area cleaning
• Transportation of the swept wastes to the landfill site

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Zone 1: This zone consists of highly populated areas, traffic areas, Commercial and
industrial areas, slums and tourist places. This zone is proposed to be swept seven
days in a week.
Zone2: This zone comprises of residential areas having very low commercial
activities and traffic. This zone is proposed to be swept twice a week.
Zone 3: This zone is delineated of sparsely populated areas with very less number of
households. This zone is proposed to be swept once a week
The door-to-door waste collection of segregated waste from residents is proposed in
the following way. Auto tipper is proposed for door to door collection. One Auto
tipper can serve 750 to 1,000 households. Auto tipper is designed in such a way that it
can mechanically tip the waste directly into the secondary storage container.
Vehicles requirements for primary collection:
Auto tipper : 67
Tricycle : 39
Pushcart : 74
Waste collection from the slum households will be carried out by the City
Corporation workers using door to door collection in slum areas by 30 pourakarmikas
30 pushcarts will be provided for the each worker at the distinguished areas, so that
they will be able to collect the waste from the source. The waste thus collected from
the slum will be delivered by the pourakarmikas to the secondary containers
In case of the Cost -Effective analysis of solid waste management services in the
study area several observations were made. Basically, in fact, a clear-cut pricing
mechanism cannot be adopted for urban services because of its features of non­
excludability and externality. Further, in applying the marginal cost-pricing rule for
public services like water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal, and street lighting,
three aspects are taken into consideration, namely:

1. the level of consumption of the service;

2. the access or connection to the service; and
3. the opportunity to use or to connect to the service
Unfortunately, in most of the developing countries particularly in South Asia lack of
appropriate pricing (user charges generally low) policy for these services which does
not in any way relate to the cost of supply and distribution. Moreover, some of these
services are the minimum basic subsistence required for survival and are provided by

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the government irrespective of any fixed payments being made against them.
Although in case of local governments, these services are concerned, the user charges
paid by the service beneficiaries remains too low, hence, the problem of shortages of
funds. Over the past three centuries, state governments have established urban local
bodies (ULBs) to provide basic services. Local bodies perform certain mandatory
duties and they are required to raise sufficient financial resources to meet their
financial obligations. But, the respective state laws governing municipal authorities
establish their powers to levy taxes, charges, fees, and the like for raising money to
meet their statutory obligations. The study observed that, municipalities need
adequate and recurrent cash flows to provide waste disposal service. Obviously,
without recurrent revenues, service provision mostly relies on transfers from another
level of government or grants, making the service difficult to sustain.
The budgeting for SWM generally made every year by taking into account the needs
of the operation and maintenance of SWM services as well as investment costs for
procuring tools, equipment and construction of treatment and landfill facilities.
Annual budgeting includes the projections and SWM works to be undertaken in the
next financial year. Municipal authorities take into consideration whole-project costs
when preparing their budgets and then breaking up the project costs into costs for
yearly activities. Annual budgets are prepared after detailed costing steps which
include tax recovery, debt payment, and contingencies. Therefore, the estimating and
proposing an annual budget for solid waste management services generally it takes
into account the necessity of this public service provision in the city area.
Most of the waste management process incur larger expenditure burden on the part
of urban local bodies like MCC, the study area. Solid waste management constitutes
from 10 to 50 percent of municipal budget expenditure, depending on the income
sources of the municipal authorities. The main expenditure categories under SWM are
salaries and allowances, consumables, vehicle repair and maintenance, contingencies,
and other. As much as 30 to 50 percent of municipal personnel in a local body are
engaged in SWM activities. Most of this staff is engaged in street sweeping. A recent
survey by the National Institute of Urban Affairs shows ‘"salaries of sanitation
workers” for SWM in class I cities constitute as much as 75 percent of total SWM
expenditure (Asnani 2006: 180). This amount is even higher in class II cities.
The municipal authorities need to take careful look at their finances and implement

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a transparent financial and accounting system that will allow them to impose
expenditure discipline and make judicious use of limited funds available. The
following measures could help improve the financial health of municipal authorities:
The following measures could help improve the financial health of municipal
authorities:

Identify priority areas

• Prioritize the services that the municipal authority has to provide.
• Put SWM service in the top priority list because it is an essential service and
obligatory for the municipal authorities to perform.
• Put all nonobligatory functions in a separate category of duties that may be
performed only after providing adequate funds for satisfactory performance
of all essential services.
• Ban wasteful expenditures.
Define priorities for obligatory services
• Decide the minimum level of service the municipal authority would like to
provide in each category of service in a given time frame.
• Estimate the funds required to provide that level of service.
• Set the priority of the essential services among themselves, giving due
priority to SWM services.
• Allocate funds for each service.
• Decide the critical area in each service and use the funds to optimize the
benefits to society.
• Defer expenditures that can wait.
Improve tax collection efficiency
• Critically look into the existing mechanisms and efficiency of tax collection
and collection of charges, fees, and other income sources prescribed by the
municipal authorities.
• Identify the leaks or lapses in the system
• Plug the leaks and maximize the efficiency of collection of taxes, charges,
and fees.
• Get professional or private sector help in this area wherever required
• Use the additional funds generated through this effort for the essential
services.

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 • Streamline procedural steps for debt collection from non-payers.
. Review the existing rates and charges
• Compare existing rates of taxes and charges to the current cost of services.
• Make sure that citizens are reasonably taxed for the services they receive.
Rates that are too low may be suitably increased to reduce the gap between
income and expenditure.
• Rationalize the property tax structure, preferably on the basis of carpet area
or plinth area rather than on the basis of rents.
• Introduce the element of cost recovery for specialized services rendered,
particularly in the case of doorstep services or non-domestic waste collection
services.
Encourage NGO and private sector participation
• List all the SWM activities performed by the municipal authority.
• Identify the areas where NGO or private sector participation or contracting
out of services is desirable.
• Change policy: instead of being a provider, become an enabler of the sendee.
• Determine which services can be covered by the private sector, an NGO, or a
cooperative for direct payment from users to reduce the burden on the
municipal authority.
• In such areas, carefully monitor the performance of the NGO or private
sector provider to ensure required levels of service are met.
Review establishment costs
• Critically review overhead costs and the job requirements of officers and
staff.
• Set work norms carefully.
• Review human resource needs.
• Reduce surplus staff members, if any, or redeploy them where needed.
• Economize in expenditure in all activities of the municipal authority.
The improved fiscal efficiency of a municipal authority may even make it eligible
for funding by financial institutions. A municipal authority should have a contingency
fund for planned and timely replacement of vehicles and equipment. This study
suggests that while preparing the budget for this purpose, much attention need to paid
for the efficient mode of transport so that, the disposal cost will be minimised.

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Methodology of the study
Objectives of the study
The important objectives of the study were to:

1. Review the status of SWM in Karnataka with a reference in the study area

2. Find out the factors affecting SWM process in the study area

3. Examine the SWM process and identify the key problems in the study area.

4. Explore the sources of financing methods, problems and scope of public-private

participatory approach for SWM service provisions in the study area.

5. Assess the costs- effectiveness of SWM practices in the context of socio economic
status of house holds in the study area.

Hypotheses of the study

1. The current practice of SWM services in Karnataka is a combination of public

administration and the private sector participation in the study area.

2 Income, food habits and family size are the factors affecting SW generation in
the study area.

3 The amount spend for disposal, transport facility and the number of labourers
employed affect (determine) the efficiency of SWM process.

5. Cost on collection, distance between the waste collection point and the
disposal site and the transportation mode affect the SWM process.

5. The solid waste management process involves different stages of waste flows and

there are few key areas where an Integrated SWM is practiced/ implemented.

Data Collection

For the purpose of both quantity and quality SWM services primary and secondary
data were collected through structured random sampling surveys. Under the SWM
some different agents and waste generating sector is involved. Since the SWM is a
process which undergo through various stages, information was collected from
various waste generating sectors (both primary and secondary) formal and informal.
In total 400 households were selected from Mangalore City Corporation area of
Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state. Further, in order to know the quantity

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wise analysis of waste generated by different units like hospitals, hotels, marketing
stalls (Non-veg food) and households were contacted through appropriate
questionnaires. The sources of financing or investment funding of solid waste
management services were collected from both the office of the MCC, the households
and other stakeholders in the study area. For the effective evaluation of the above
stated objectives, the period of study was from 2001-02 to 2008-09.

Data Analysis

The primary data generated through the use of interview schedules were transferred
in to master tables through code- designs for tabulation purposes. Then the functional
tables prepared for interpretation to analyze the results of the study. Different
statistical techniques/ tools like Chi-square test for testing the association between the
variables, F-test to test the significant difference between variables and Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to find the compound growth rate of the variables are
used. Maps, Charts and Figures are used for the graphical representation of the results
for illustrating the findings of the study. Above all, the employment (Labour use)
opportunities, the various cost inputs incurred by the MCC officials and other
participating agents in solid waste management services etc properly accounted and
other various policy issues governing solid waste management also generated with a
view to derive a few policy recommendations for the MCC officials.
Chapter Outlines
2. INTRODUCTION
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
3. THE PROCESS AND MACHANISMS OF SOLID WASTE

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

4. THE COST-EFFECTIVE ANALYSIS OF SOLID WASTE

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Brief Chapter contents

First Introductory chapter describes the detailed introduction including the

methodology of the study and Status of Solid Waste Management services in the
study area

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Second Review of Literature chapter provides the review of literature related to the
research problem

Third Solid Waste Management chapter deals with the process and Mechanisms of the
Solid Waste Management services and scope of integrated Solid Waste Management
if any in the study area

Fourth Cost effective analysis of SWM chapter examines the budget analysis on
Solid Waste Management- i.e., the problems, methods and sources for financing of
SWM services including the cost -effectiveness and the socio- economic impact
analysis in the study area.

Fifth chapter discusses the summary, major findings and conclusion of the study

Bibliography

MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Primary Data Based

• The study revealed that in the small family households 52.87 respondents are
male and 47.13 respondents are females. In the case of medium family 47.74
percent of the household respondents were male and 52.26 percent belongs to
female and among the big family the representation of male and female
respondents are 48.94 percent and 51.06 percent respectively.

• It was observed that majority of the respondents irrespective of their family

size have the mixed food habit. There exists significant difference in the food
habit with respect to their family size.

• It was examined that among the 400 respondents, 6.00 percent of the
households consume below 500 gms of food per day and 58.50 percent of the
house holds take 0.5 tO 1 kg. The percentage of households consumes 1 to 2
kg and, 2 to 3 kg of food was 21.25 percent and 9.75 percent respectively.
Only 4.5 percent of the households consumes above 3 kg of food.

• The study brought out that the average food intake of the small family was
2.5172 kg with standard deviation 0.7449. Food consumption of medium and

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 big family was 2.5301 kg with standard deviation 0.7275 and 2.8511 kg with
standard deviation 0.4653 respectively.

• The study showed that in the case of small family 21.84 percent of the
households generates below 200 gms of food waste and 75.86 percent of the
households generates between 200 to 500 gms of food waste, where as in the
case of medium family 39.85 percent households generates below 200 gms of
food waste and 52.63 percent of the households generates between 200 to 500
gms of food waste and in the case of big family 34.75 percent of households
generate below 200 gms of food waste and 59.25 percent of the households
generates between 200 to 500 gms of food waste. The percentage of
households generates above 500 gm food waste among small, medium and big
family are 2.3, 7.52 and 4.26 respectively. Hence, there is a significant
difference in the quantity of waste generation among the families, since the p
value (0.002867) is less than 0.05.

• The study disclosed that 65.52 percent of the small family, 59.77 percent of
the medium family and 57.45 percent of the big family have no knowledge
about the waste segregation method. Only 9.2 percent of the small family and
4.89 percent of the medium family have the knowledge of segregation
methods adopted. No single respondents from the big family know the
segregation methods adopted. There was no significant difference between the
family size and the knowledge of segregation methods adopted, since the p
value (0.167514) is greater than 0.05. Thus, the study revealed that majority of
the family respondents has no knowledge of segregation methods.

• From the study it was observed that 62.07 per cent of small family, 67.7
medium family and 87.23 per cent of the big family were not segregating non-
dryable waste in the initial stage. However, 37.93 per cent of the small
families and 32.33 per cent of the medium families were segregating non-
dryable wastes in the initial stage. But only 12.77 per cent of the big family is
segregating non-dryable waste in the initial stage. There was significant
difference in the segregation of the non-dryable waste in the initial stage with

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 respect to the size of the family since p value is less than 0.05. Thus, majority
of the families (68.75 percent) are not segregating non-dryable waste in the
initial stage.
• The study observed that the role of the agency for segregating the waste in the
area is lacking. From the total sample 16.11 per cent opinioned that the waste
segregation is done by the person who collects the waste, 8.39 percent opined
that it is done by the rag pickers and majority of the 75.50 percent respondents
have opined that it was done by the corporation workers. It was observed that
Corporation workers were the main segregating agency for the waste
generated.

• It was revealed that the distance from home to dumping site is far way from
their residential places. Among the total households 19.00 percent have the
access to dumping place below 5 KM, majority of the households say, 65.25
percent have the access to dumping place between 0.5 and 1 KM. 13 percent
of the households have the access in between 1 to 2 Km. Majority of the
households, 84.25 percent have the access to dumping pace below one Km.
• It was revealed that among the total household respondents in the area, only
7.25 percent have the knowledge of the waste disposal mechanism existed in
the city.

• The study noted that from the small family 5.75 percent households, house
labour is disposing the waste, 74.71 percent household the owners are
disposing the waste and 19.54 percent households, corporation workers
disposing it. In the case of medium family 15.79 percent households house
labour was disposing the waste, 69.55percent household owners was disposing
the waste and 14.66 percent households corporation workers disposing it.
Majority of the households, 71.75 percent were disposing the waste by
themselves.

• It was observed that majority of the 76.75 percent households have the habit of
disposing the waste in a daily basis and only 4.5 percent of the households
have the habit of disposing the waste twice in a day.

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• It was observed from the study that the habit of disposing the waste into the
tree in small family and large family is 64.34 percent and 70.21 percent
respectively. But in the case of medium family only 47.37 percent have the
habit of disposing waste into the tree and 52.63 percent was not disposing the
waste into the trees. There exist significant variations in respect of the
disposing waste into the trees among the families, since the p-value is less than
0.05. The study concluded that small family and big family have the habit of
disposing the waste into the tree.

• It was observed that the average cost for waste discharging per month of the
small family was Rs 109.76 with standard deviation 127.03 and for the
medium and big family it is Rs 73.17 with standard deviation 100.16 and Rs
124.96 with standard deviation 96.51 respectively. There exists significant
variation in cost of waste discharging per month with respect to their family
size. The medium family spends the fewer amounts for waste discharging.

• The study examined the nature of payment made to the corporation for the
disposal of waste by the households and it was observed that among the small
size family around 5.75 percent, in the medium family about 12.03 percent
and in big family remaining 23.40 percent was made payments for disposing
the waste. Thus it was evident that while increasing the family size the number
of house holds making payment to the corporation has also increased.

• It was revealed from the study about the awareness of the dangers of the waste
in detail and observed that the total respondents 33.00 percent were of the
opinion that solid waste create the disease and 30.50 percent were of the
opinion that it makes pollution. A negligible percentage is of the opinion that
the waste creates bad smell 3.00 percent and it will spread the mosquitoes 1.00
percent. Among the total sample 32.50 percent were not responded to this
question. Majority of the respondents were aware that the major problem of
waste generation is Disease and pollution.

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 • It was observed from the study that the majority of the respondents, 95.50
percent were not favoured the use of plastic bags irrespective of their family
size.

• The study revealed that 31.25 percent of the households were using the waste
as a fuel. Among the users of the waste as a fuel, small family was prominent.

• The study revealed that among the household respondents in all categories,
majority 96.25 percent do not prefer open throw method.
• The study observed that the pattern of the respondents dwelling place in the
study area. Among the household respondents 77.00 percent have their own
house, 21.00 percent were having rented houses and the remaining 2 percent
of the respondents were staying in leased house or staying with relatives.

• The study showed that irrespective of the size of the family the residential
associations (in group) were bearing the responsibility of the disposal of the
waste 61.2 percent. Among the total households 33.00 percent were taking
responsibility of waste disposal by themselves.

• The study observed that the expenditure pattern of the household respondents.
It was clear that the average expenditure of the small, medium and big family
were Rs 163.22, Rs 206.69 and Rs 500.00 respectively.

• It was observed that cent percent of the big family was satisfied with the
existing method of waste disposal system. But in the case of small and
medium family the percentage of households satisfied with the present waste
disposal system were 79.31 and 81.20 respectively.

Secondary sources based

• Population growth in Mangalore city is increasing

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 • The area coming under the jurisdiction of Mangalore City Corporation
produces an average of 175 Tone’s of waste per day including construction
debris and street sweeping wastes.

• Major share of the solid waste generates from household sector (87.71 TPD)
followed by Street sweeping (27.266 TPD), Market (20.075 TPD) and
Choultaries and Temples (10.35 TPD)

• Major portion of the waste generated in the Mangalore city is organic and it
comes to 75% of the total waste.

• Salaries for the staff, Cost of the equipment, Operation and Maintenance of
Vehicles, Contractors payment for solid waste management and the
miscellaneous expenditure for various years show the mixed trend.

• Major expenditure for the SWM in Mangalore city is for payment to SWM
contractors and the salaries for the staff.

• The process of waste segregation is not followed in Mangalore City

Corporation. There is no Separate collection system for segregated waste.

• The MCC does not have a workshop and all its vehicles are maintained at
private workshops it may increase their expenditure on transportation further.

• The problems faced by the City Corporation while executing the current solid
waste management system are Lack of awareness among the community, Staff
requires proper training on solid waste handling , Lack of resident’s interest
and support and Lack of planning.

• At some places wastes are transported through open transportation vehicles it

creates air pollution.

Thus, both the primary and secondary based survey has brought many aspects
related to the problems encountered by the urban local authorities in managing the
solid waste provisions in the growing corporation city like Mangalore. Surely, the
findings of the study helps to suggest very meaningful and useful policy suggestions

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to all concerned in the field. These are briefly discussed in the following Para as
below:

Suggestions and Policy Recommendations

By considering the significance, status and various administrative as well field
level problems in an efficient delivery of the solid waste service provisions and also
by looking at present scenario that prevail in the country in general and in the study
area in particular, following suggestions may be considered to improve efficiency in
waste management services as well also to minimize the cost burden on the part of
urban local bodies:
1. Each city or town should have a full-cost accounting system that shows the exact
cost of SWM service and takes into account all hidden costs. Furthermore, it must
take into account past and future outlays, overheads, and operating cost. Depreciation
and amortization should also be shown so that the cost of service and financial
liability is known. The full-cost accounting should reflect not only what has been
spent on SWM but also what is committed to be paid regardless of when the money is
spent. Since this infonnation is necessary for making informed decisions on what
service needs special attention to reduce cost effective, proper clarity of a well defined
strategies need to be emphasized and adopted for private sector participation, public-
private partnership, or NGO participation in SWM service, definitely would serve the
goal of the sustained solid waste management services in most of the Indian cities.
Besides these, knowing the actual cost involved in SWM services will help make
communication with the public transparent when authorities must advocate for
financing through user fees.
2. Although urban local government authorities normally work out the operating,
maintenance, and capital costs required for each component of SWM service, the
costing should take into account personnel costs for primary collection, secondary
storage, transport, and disposal of waste. It should also take into consideration the cost
of tools and equipment, the debt-servicing charges, and operating and maintenance
costs accurately. In fact the budgeting for management of solid waste services
generally made every year by taking into account the needs of the operation and
maintenance of these services as well as investment costs for procuring tools,
equipment and construction of treatment and landfill facilities. But while estimating
these expenditure proposals, projected increases in population and quantity of waste

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generation also need to be taken into account when determining the financial
requirements of municipal authorities, and provision is made to estimate required
expenditures, otherwise it will be a difficult task for these authorities to ensure en
efficient service delivery to all residents of the city. Due to these reasons, urban local
governments prepare their budgets using an incremental approach that is based on the
previous year’s budget. In such a system normally annual budgeting includes the
projections and SWM works to be undertaken in the next financial year. Therefore, it
is suggested that municipal authorities have to take into consideration the whole-
project costs when preparing their budgets and then breaking up the project costs into
costs for yearly activities. Obviously, annual budgets are prepared after detailed
costing steps which include tax recovery, debt payment, and contingencies.
Since the user charges collected is very low and in order to make these public
provision more cost-effective and service- benefit oriented, the following elements
though serve as yardsticks to help urban local government work out what funds are
needed to provide efficient service, but still there is the scope for these machinery to
follow a priority based or preferential choice which generates more funds; a part of
which may be allocated to these very essential health hazard preventive task.
• Property and house taxes
• Octroi duty (in some states only)
• Water tax
• Sewerage, drainage, and conservancy tax
• City cleaning tax
• Fees for passing building plans
• Levies on advertisement through hoardings, signboards, and so forth
• Rents from municipal properties
• Fees from licenses for various trades
• Parking fees
Unfortunately, despite powers given to ULBs to impose taxes, most municipal
authorities do not levy sufficient taxes. The tax base is generally very weak. The basic
valuation from which the level of taxes is calculated is faulty or is deliberately kept
low to reduce the burden on the taxpayers. Elected representatives shy away from
imposing new taxes or increasing the tax rates for fear of public outcry or losing their
constituency. They do not appreciate that if they fail to provide services for want of
funds, public outcry or distrust could be worse. Further, the financial situation also

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becomes very worse as the situation for tax recovery is also very poor. It is interesting
note that, many taxable properties are not registered. Certain property holders
somehow manage to escape the tax net. Those who are assessed are quite often under
assessed and do not pay their taxes regularly. Similarly, the mechanism of tax
recovery is poor. The rates of tax recovery generally range between 30 and 50
percent. In this situation, the financial health of ULBs in India is poor, and they are
unable to fulfill their obligations of public provisions like waste disposal services.
Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, it is suggested that the various
urban tax recovery methods should be very stringent and there should be a constant
monitoring with enforcement of penalty or fines etc.
3. It also observed that urban government decision makers do not give adequate
priority to SWM. For instance, in many of the corporation cities, under total financial
allocations, larger share go for staff salaries as the first priority and what is left is
spent on visible infrastructure projects. Hence, very little is allotted to improving
SWM services, varying between one and thirty percent of the total urban government
budget depending on the size of the urban area. Surprise to note that, most of the
budget for SWM is consumed in salaries of sanitation workers and transport of waste.
Very little or none is set apart for actual treatment and disposal of waste. However, it
can be noted here the percentage of expenditures for various solid waste services as
directed by the hon'ble Supreme Court of India (1999) as:
• 70 to 75 percent on street sweeping
• 25 to 30 percent on collection
• 0 to 5 percent on disposal
Thus, keeping in view of the Supreme Court directives, it is suggested that, the urban
governments have to allocate larger amount of general municipal funds to cover the
costs of SWM services. As they most often do not levy any sanitation or city cleaning
tax, nor do they impose user fees for waste collection service or for any other SWM
service, they should muster the attitude and courage to levy user fees for door-to-door
collection.
4. The over all study also point out that the strategies so far practiced not very
rewarding to the local governments. Hence it is recommended that, the urban
government authorities needed to take a careful look at their finances and implement a
transparent financial and accounting system that will allow them to impose
expenditure discipline and make judicious use of limited funds available. In this

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context, the following measures could help improve the financial health of municipal
authorities:

A. Identify priority areas

• Prioritize the services that the urban local government authority has to
provide
• Put SWM service in the top priority list because it is an essential service and
obligatory for the urban local government authorities to perform
• Put all nonobligatory functions in a separate category of duties that may be
performed only after providing adequate funds for satisfactory performance
of all essential services
• Ban wasteful expenditures
B. Define priorities for obligatory services
• Decide the minimum level of service the urban local government authority
would like to provide in each category of service in a given time frame.
• Estimate the funds required to provide that level of service
• Set the priority of the essential services among themselves, giving due
priority to SWM services
• Allocate funds for each service
• Decide the critical area in each service and use the funds to optimize the
benefits to society
• Defer expenditures that can wait
C. Improve tax collection efficiency
• Critically look into the existing mechanisms and efficiency of tax collection
and collection of charges, fees, and other income sources prescribed by the
urban local government authorities
• Identify the leaks or lapses in the system
• Plug the leaks and maximize the efficiency of collection of taxes, charges,
and fees
• Get professional or private sector help in this area wherever required
• Use the additional funds generated through this effort for the essential
services
• Streamline procedural steps for debt collection from non-payers
D. Review the existing rates and charges

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 • Compare existing rates of taxes and charges to the current cost of services
• Make sure that citizens are reasonably taxed for the services they receive.
Rates that are too low may be suitably increased to reduce the gap between
income and expenditure.
• Rationalize the property tax structure, preferably on the basis of carpet area
or plinth area rather than on the basis of rents.
• Introduce the element of cost recovery for specialized services rendered,
particularly in the case of doorstep sendees or non-domestic waste collection
services.
E. Encourage NGO and private sector participation
• List all the SWM activities performed by the urban local government
authority
• Identify the areas where NGO or private sector participation or contracting
out of services is desirable
• Change policy: instead of being a provider, become an enabler of the service.
• Determine which services can be covered by the private sector, an NGO, or a
cooperative for direct payment from users to reduce the burden on the urban
local government authority
• In such areas, carefully monitor the performance of the NGO or private
sector provider to ensure required levels of service are met.
F. Review establishment costs
• Critically review overhead costs and the job requirements of officers and
staff
• Set work norms carefully
• Review human resource needs.
• Reduce surplus staff members, if any, or redeploy them where needed.
• Economize in expenditure in all activities of the urban local government
authority
Therefore, we hope that, if all the efforts are put collectively by the urban local
government from A to F, it will improve financial discipline and put the urban local
government authority in a more comfortable position to plan expenditures for
essential items of work. The improved fiscal efficiency of an urban local government
authority may even make it eligible for funding by financial institutions. It is equally
important that an urban local government authority should have a contingency fund

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for planned and timely replacement of vehicles and equipment.
Against these policy suggestions, a few policy measures also expected to be
followed:
• Urban local government authorities need to increase their financial resources to
meet their statutory obligations instead of solely depending on government
grants.
• Before considering raising tax rates, urban local government authorities should
plug inefficiencies and leaks in their revenue collection and economize in costs
by avoiding wasteful expenditures and postponing expenditures for nonessential
items.
• Urban local government authorities need to levy user fees to recover full or
partial costs of SWM service, more particularly for the door-to-door collection
of waste when that service is provided.
• Urban local government authorities should consider involving the private sector
in SWM services to provide efficient services cost-effectively.
• Urban local government authorities need to clearly understand how much is
spent for the various components of SWM services.
• Given the knowledge of expenditures by various components of SWM ser­
vices, the next step is to develop and implement strategies to minimize the cost
of SWM services.
• Various ways to raise financing exist, either by making use of user charges or
funding opportunities from national or international programs.
• Many means for obtaining financial support exist under various governments of
India schemes.
Research Gaps
A few areas for research endeavors also may be put forwarded as:
a. A study on the pattern of allocation of grants towards the public provisions and its
utilization and auditing process existing at different urban local level in the country
b. A detailed study on the role of the urban local government machinery on the public
provisions and its economic feasibilities in the context of increase in the solid waste
generation by different units on a comparative basis.
c. An independent study on medical waste and methodology practiced in its disposal
stage along with its environmental effects if any, and also the industrial wastes
recycling process and its economic cost-effective analysis if possible.

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d. Finally, there is also a need do develop a methodology of research for developing
interactive techniques for system’s design and operational control at least for future.

Conclusion
Solid waste management in developing countries has received less attention from
policy makers and academics than that paid to other urban environmental problems,
such as air pollution and wastewater treatment. Nevertheless, the improper handling
and disposal of solid wastes constitutes a serious problem: it contributes to the high
morbidity and mortality rates in many of the cities of Third World nations. More over
such cities rapid urbanization have undergone during the past fifty years. Certainly,
urbanization in the Third World implies the expansion of slum areas and the creation
of new ones. Rapid population growth in the cities intensifies the pressure on urban
infrastructure in many cities which were already over-burdened with the provision of
urban public services. Importantly, most of these lack the resources to meet the
demand for services such as water, sanitation and solid waste management. Naturally,
the insufficiency of services results in a deterioration of the urban environment in the
form of air, water and land pollution that poses risks to human health and the
environment.

There is no doubt or tendency that waste management in cities needs to radically

change from current practices. Indeed, the new Government rules (2000) signify a
movement in the right direction; however, the implementation and enforcement of
these rules will determine their success; but with a cautious of broad perception on the
solid waste service provision necessity. The collection of urban solid waste needs to
ensure that piles of garbage do not litter the cities and towns. Of course, certainly,
waste reduction is a worthy goal, and several cities in India are attempting to reduce
the amount of non biodegradable waste by banning plastic bags. Further, the ULBs
should find additional financial sources by making use of wastes. However, in the
absence of any fees for garbage collection, there are few monetary incentives for
waste reduction. The absence of tipping fees at landfills further exacerbates the
problem. There are concerns that tipping fees would encourage improper disposal
with waste haulers dumping at locations other than the landfills. Penalties in the form
of fines may discourage such practices. The Urban Local Bodies can think of

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constructing the most scientific land filling technologies adapted by the foreign
countries, if their budget looks sound and efficient.
Generally, the plans for increased recycling include the rag pickers in the informal
sector. While the rules dictate that working conditions have to be improved for
workers recycling material, they also state that rag pickers may not be allowed into
the new landfills. House hold recycling may take many years to take hold, and
facilities must be developed close to the landfill for sorting before disposal to ensure
that millions of rag pickers do not loose their lively hood and that recyclables are not
disposed of in landfills. Thus, an efficient solid waste management mechanism should
integrate the dimensions like stakeholders, NGOs, the private sector agents and the
factors and system elements for effective results in management of solid waste in
urban cities in particular, the highly growing corporation cities like Mangalore (note
that a few such NGOs work in the study area).
Solid waste management is a vital, ongoing and large public service provision,
which needs to be efficiently provided to the community to maintain aesthetic and
public health standards. Urban government agencies will have to plan and execute the
system in keeping with the increasing urban areas and population. There has to be a
systematic effort in the improvement in various factors like institutional arrangement,
financial provisions, appropriate technology, operations management, human resource
development, public participation and awareness, and policy and legal framework for
an integrated SWM system. To achieve Cleanliness, which is next to Godliness, it is
necessary to design and operate an efficient SWM system. Public co-operation is
essential for successful operation of such a system.
Mangalore city is currently is facing a municipal solid waste dilemma, for which all
elements of the city are responsible including government authorities. The community
sensitization and public awareness is low. There is no system of segregation of
organic, inorganic and recyclable wastes at household level. There is an adequate
legal framework existing in the city to address MSWM. What is lacking is its
implementation and in spite of a stringent legislation in place, open dumping is the
most wide spread form of waste disposal. The possible reasons for poor
implementation could be a combination of social, technical, institutional and financial
issues. Public awareness, political will and public participation, are essential for the
successful implementation of the legal provisions and to have an integrated approach
towards sustainable management of municipal solid wastes in the country.

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 The present study has examined a few problems and the mechanisms of the solid
waste management services in the growing corporation city area like Mangalore. The
study has pointed out that due to increase in waste generation in various sectors, the
MCC official finds it very difficult to manage it efficiently at various stages in
particular at the disposing sites. Interestingly, the waste generated in the city area
shifted to a far a way rural residential place leading to wide protests by the local
residents. Importantly, the management of hospital wastes still remains as a recent
factor in the hands of MCC officials. Thus, though a sincere effort has been made to
interact with MCC officials, NGOs, local residential association the
environmentalist’s organizations in the region and above all the rural based local
residents who are affected by the open -waste dumping, we could not arrive at the
nature of solution to overcome the practical solution to the dumping and how to
rescue those people who are effected due to throwing of city wastes in the far way
rural locations imposing environmental pollution to the rural people and their living
squatters.
As this study point out there is no question that waste management in cities needs
to radically change from current practices, but it has to be addressed with proper
capital supply and manpower team. The new rules signify a movement in the right
direction; however, the implementation and enforcement of these rules will determine
their success. The collection of solid wastes needs to ensure that piles of garbage do
not litter the cities and towns in Indian cities. Waste reduction is a worthy goal, and
several cities in India are attempting to reduce the amount of non biodegradable waste
by banning plastic bags. However, in the absence of any fees for garbage collection,
there are few monetary incentives for waste reduction. The absence of tipping fees at
landfills further exacerbates the problem. There are concerns that tipping fees would
encourage improper disposal with waste haulers dumping at locations other than the
landfills. Penalties in the form of fines may discourage such practices.
Further, the plans for increased recycling have to include the rag pickers in the
informal sector. While the rules dictate that working conditions have to be improved
for workers recycling material, they also state that rag pickers may not be allowed
into the new landfills. House hold recycling may take many years to take hold, and
facilities must be developed close to the landfill for sorting before disposal to ensure
that millions of rag pickers do not loose their lively hood and that recyclables are not
disposed of in landfills. Thus, an efficient solid waste management mechanism should

137
integrate the dimensions like stakeholders, NGOs, the private sector agents and the
factors and system elements for effective results in management of solid waste in
urban cities in particular, the highly growing cities.

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