Vardhan Consulting Engineers 

Waste to Energy 
Analyzing and conceptualizing engineering 
solutions for MSW management of large cities in 
India 
 

SHASHWAT MISHRA 

2017UME4055 

MAC23 - Training 

 
 
 

Acknowledgement

This report is authored by SHASHWAT MISHRA of Netaji Subhas University of Technology on

the topic of WASTE TO ENERGY- MSW. I would like to express my special thanks and
gratitude to prof. Predeep Khanna sir for providing me an opportunity to learn and work on a
project of my choice.

I would also like to thank VCE (vardhan consulting engineers) and my mentor Mr. Ashish
Kumar who provides me with this virtual internship and guided me through all my research
work. I am very grateful to them.

Table of Content
Acknowledgement 2

Table of Content 2

About VCE 3

Introduction 4
Collection 6

Transfer and Transport 6

Processing 6

Disposal 6

MSW Segregation, Collection and Transportation 6

Waste Segregation 6

Waste Collection and Transportation 7

Processing and Treatment of MUnicipal Solid Waste 8

Reuse/Recycle 9

Composting 9

 
2 
 
 

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) 10

Waste to Energy 11

Municipal Sanitary Landfills 13

Initial adjustment (Phase I) 14

Transition (Phase II) 14

Acid formation (Phase III) 14

Methane fermentation (Phase IV) 14

Final maturation and stabilization (Phase V) 14

Pyrolysis Plant 15
Catalyst used: 18

End product 18

Value Addition 19
Challenges 19

Recommendations 20

Conclusion 21

References 22

 
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About VCE
Working under Vardhan Consultancy Engineers on this project was an overwhelming
opportunity. In developing countries like India there is rapid increase in MSW due to rapid
urbanization and population growth. Therefore MSW has become one of the major areas of
concern all over the world. Increasing volume of MSW generation and unscientific handling of
MSW degrades the urban environment and causes health hazards.

India is rapidly shifting from an agriculture based nation to an industrial and service oriented
country. Over 35% of indian population is living in urban areas. There are 3 mega cities ( greater
mumbai, kolkata, delhi ) with over 10 million population. Municipal solid waste management
(MSWM), a critical element towards sustainable metropolitan development, comprises
segregation, storage, collection, relocation, processing and disposal of solid waste to minimize its
adverse impact on the environment.

• Biodegradable Waste: Food and kitchen waste, green waste (vegetables, flowers, leaves, fruits)
and paper.

• Recyclable Material: Paper, glass, bottles, cans, metals, certain plastics, etc.

• Inert Waste Matter: C&D, dirt, debris.

• Composite waste: Waste clothing, Tetra packs, waste plastics such as toys.

• Domestic Hazardous Waste (also called “household hazardous waste”) and toxic waste.

Waste medicine, e-waste, paints, chemicals, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, spray cans, fertilizer
and pesticide containers, batteries, and shoe polish. MSW in India has approximately 40–60%
compostable, 30–50% inert waste and 10% to 30% recyclable. Analysis carried out by NEERI
reveals that in totality Indian waste consists of Nitrogen content (0.64 ± 0.8) %, Phosphorus
(0.67 ± 0.15)%, Potassium (0.68 ± 0.15)%, and C/N ration (26 ± 5) %

 
4 
 
 

Introduction
Municipal solid waste consists of everyday items that are discarded by the public. MSW includes
household waste, commercial waste, demolition waste. MSW, also called garbage or trash, in
nonhazardous disposal material generated by households, institutes, industries agriculture, and
sewage. As per World Bank estimate india produces approximately 150,000 metric tons of MSW
daily.

Quantity of MSW is increasing due to the increase in population and rapid urbanization.
Expected generation of MSW until 2025 in India is 700 grams per capita per day. The urban
population is expected to grow to 45% of total from the prevailing 35%. Hence the magnitude of
the MSWM problem is likely to grow to an even larger proportion.

As per estimates more than 55 million tons of MSW is generated in India per year; the yearly
increase is estimated to be about 5%. It is estimated that solid waste generated in small, medium
and large cities and towns in India is about 0.1 kg, 0.3 – 0.4 kg and 0.5 kg per capita per day
respectively.

 
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Reutilization of solid waste is not only a viable option, but also desirable socially, economically,
and environmentally. One of the problems in urban India is almost no segregation of MSW and
disposal of construction and demolition debris, plastic waste, commercial and industrial refuse,
and e-waste.
The municipal solid waste industry has four components: recycling, compositing, disposal, and
waste-to-energy via incarnation.

The four stages of MSW management are:

Collection

The functional element of collection includes not only the gathering of solid waste and
recyclable materials, but also the transport of these materials, after collection, to the location
where the collection vehicle is emptied. This location may be a materials processing facility, a
transfer station or a landfill disposal site

Transfer and Transport

This element involves two main steps. First, the waste is transferred from a smaller collection
vehicle to larger transport equipment. The waste is then transported, usually over long distances,
to a processing or disposal site.

Processing
Municipal solid waste can be used to generate energy. Several technologies have been developed
that make the processing of MSW for energy generation cleaner and more economical than ever
before, including landfill gas capture, combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, and​ ​plasma arc
gasification. While older waste incineration plants emitted a lot of pollutants, recent regulatory
changes and new technologies have significantly reduced this concern.

Disposal
The disposal of wastes by landfilling or land spreading is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes,
whether they are residential wastes collected and transported directly to a landfill site, residual

 
6 
 
 
materials from​ ​material recovery facility (MRFs), residue from the combustion of solid waste,
compost, or other substances from various solid waste processing facilities. A modern sanitary
landfill is not a dump; it is an engineered facility used for disposing of solid wastes on land
without creating nuisances or hazards to public health or safety, such as the problems of insects
and the contamination of​ ​groundwater.

MSW Segregation, Collection and Transportation

​Waste Segregation

There is no organized and scientifically planned segregation of MSW either at household level
or at community bin. Sorting of waste is mostly accomplished by unorganized sector and seldom
practiced by waste producers. Segregation and sorting takes place under very unsafe and
hazardous conditions and the effectiveness of segregation is reasonably low as unorganized
sector segregates only valuable discarded constituents from waste stream which can guarantee
them comparatively higher economic return in the recycling market.
● Waste handling and separation, storage and processing at the source - involves activities
associated with waste management until the waste is placed in storage containers for
collection. Handling also encompasses the movement of loaded containers to the point of
collection. Separating different types of waste components is an important step in the
handling and storage of solid waste at the source.
● Separation and processing and transformation of solid wastes - the types of means and
facilities that are now used for the recovery of waste materials that have been separated at
the source include curbside collection, drop off and buy back centers. The separation and
processing of wastes that have been separated at the source and the separation of
commingled wastes usually occur at a materials recovery facility, transfer stations,
combustion facilities and disposal sites.

 
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Waste Collection and Transportation

The functional element of collection includes not only the gathering of solid waste and
recyclable materials, but also the transport of these materials, after collection, to the location
where the collection vehicle is emptied. This location may be a materials processing facility, a
transfer station or a landfill disposal site.

Waste produced by houses is usually transferred into communal bins that are fabricated from
metal, made from concrete or in combination of both. Street sweepings also find its way to
community bins. These community waste bins are also used by other essential commercial
sectors in the vicinity of disposal bins along with household waste except where some
commercial complexes or industrial units engage municipal authorities for transfer of their waste
to disposal sites by paying some amount.

Transfer and transport involve two main steps. First,

the waste is transferred from a smaller collection
vehicle to larger transport equipment. The waste is
then transported, usually over long distances, to a
processing or disposal site.

Modes of transportation for MSWM practised in India

are: bullock carts, hand rickshaws, compactors, trucks,
tractor, trailers, and dumpers. In smaller towns trucks
having 5–9 ton capacity are used without an adequate

 
8 
 
 
cover system. Stationary compactors, mobile compactors/closed tempos, and tarpaulin-covered
vehicles are used in the transportation of MSW and about 65, 15, and 20% of waste is
transported through these compactors, respectively. The maintenance of vehicles used for
transportation of waste is usually done in workshops run by ULBs but most of these workshops
can do minor repairs only. No wonder, in the event of breakdown of these vehicles, the overall
collection, transportation, and disposal efficiency reduces drastically. Only few transfer stations
can be found in some metropolitan e.g. Mumbai.

Synchronisation between primary and secondary collection is very essential in order to avoid
spillage of containers, littering or manual handling.

Street sweeping and drain cleaning waste are to be collected in separate bins and transported
directly to the sanitary landfill facility.

Secondary waste storage containers should be covered and designed to facilitate mechanical
lifting to avoid multiple handling.

 
 

 
9 
 
 

Processing and Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste

Reuse/Recycle

This entails activities like collecting those materials from the waste, which could be gainfully
retrieved and utilized for making new products. Since unsegregated waste is dumped at
community bins, its optimal recycling is not possible. However, rag-pickers usually sorted out
and took and sold recyclable material like plastics, glass, etc. In Pondicherry, almost all
recyclable material is sorted out by rag-pickers and absorbed in the material stream through
recycling.

Recycling diverts a significant fraction of municipal, institutional and bulk waste from being
dumped or disposed of in landfills. This results in saving scarce resources as well as reducing
environmental impacts and the burden of waste management on public authorities. If appropriate
market mechanisms are established, recycling can generate revenues, contributing to the overall
cost recovery for municipal solid waste service provision.

Composting

 
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Compost : Municipal solid waste (MSW) primarily consists of organic, inorganic, and inert
fractions. Under natural conditions, the organic fraction of waste continually decomposes,
accompanied by a strong foul odour and production of gases, which are predominantly methane
or CO2 depending on the aerobic condition of the decomposing mass. Vector infestation during
the natural decomposition is a common phenomenon.

Composting is a process of controlled decomposition of the organic waste, typically in aerobic

conditions, resulting in the production of stable humus-like products, i.e., compost.

The process of aerobic composting passes through two distinct stages of high significance:
thermophilic stage (sanitisation) and mesophilic stage (decomposition).
(i) Thermophilic Stage (Sanitisation)
This is the first phase of composting wherein microorganisms decompose the easily degradable
organic substances producing heat as a result of intense metabolic activity. In most cases with
moisture content of 55%– 60% and air voids of 20%–30% in the windrow, a temperature rise
from 35°C to 55°C–65°C is achieved within 2–3 days.
● typically, thermotolerant fungi, thermophilic bacteria, and actinomycetes are the
predominantly active microorganisms at this stage.
● Windrows are turned at regular intervals to expose the material in the inner core to air so
that temperature in these fresh sections rise again, and gradually the whole windrow is
sanitised from pathogens.
(ii) Mesophilic Stage
● In the second stage, due to reduction in available nutrients and readily available carbon,
the microbial activity reduces, causing a decline in the temperature of the heap. There is a
shift in the type of active microbial species in the compost heaps.
● the composted material becomes dark brown during this stage due to humus synthesis
and starts to stabilise
(iii) Curing Stage
● Curing of compost is done after the material from the windrow is screened. The screened

 
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material is then allowed to mature in the curing stage. This is a very important phase in
the composting process. Microbial species degrading complex polymers, such as
cellulose, lignin, and hemicelluloses, increase dramatically during this phase.
● Bacteria represent 80% of this population. Free living nitrogen fixing bacteria,
denitrifiers, sulphate reducers and sulphur oxidizers are important constituents of the total

microbial population.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)

 
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RDF typically consists of the residual dry combustible fraction of the MSW including paper,
textile, rags, leather, rubber, non-recyclable plastic, jute, multilayered packaging and other
compound packaging, cellophane, thermocol, melamine, coconut shells, and other high calorific
fractions of MSW.
The RDF production line consists of several unit operations in series to separate unwanted
components and condition the combustible matter to obtain required RDF characteristics. In
general, segregation and processing may include:
● sorting or mechanical separation (in case of effectively source segregated feed material,
this process may not be required)
● size reduction (shredding, chipping, and milling)
● drying (where required)
● separation
● screening
● air density separation (for removing fine inert material);
● blending
● packaging
● storage

 
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When the raw garbage arrives it is segregated first. Then the segregated garbage goes through
primary shredding. All of the shredded garbage goes through a hot air drying procedure.
Secondary shredding is done next for even finer particle size. Additives are added next and this
is how refuse derived fuel is processed and then stored.

Waste to Energy

Waste to energy (WtE) refers to the process of generating energy in the form of heat or
electricity from MSW. Energy from MSW can be achieved through:

1. thermal processes like incineration or combustion of refuse derived fuel (RDF);

2. biological processes like biomethanation and further conversion into electrical power or
automotive fuel (compressed biogas).

Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves combustion of waste at very high
temperatures in the presence of oxygen and results in the production of ash, flue gas, and heat.
Incineration is a feasible technology for combustion of unprocessed or minimally processed
refuse and for the segregated fraction of high calorific value waste.

 
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The potential for energy generation depends on the composition, density, moisture content, and
presence of inert in the waste. In practice, about 65%–80 % of the energy content of the organic
matter can be recovered as heat energy, which can be utilised either for direct thermal
applications or for producing power via steam turbine generators.

Besides the potential for energy use, incineration of MSW helps to reduce landfill volumes.
Incineration is an option especially where other better options of processing of waste are not
feasible and land for landfilling and other waste processing methods is scarce.

Gasification is also one of the thermal treatment techniques which is used for MSW treatment
and is capable of decreasing pollution and increasing heat recovery. In India, limited gasifiers
were installed but they are mostly used to burn agro biomass. Two different designs of gasifiers
can be seen in India. The first one (NERIFIER gasification unit) has been installed at Nohar,
Hanungarh, Rajasthan by Narvreet Energy Research and Information (NERI) for burning of agro
wastes, sawmill dust, and forest wastes, while the second one is the Tata Energy Research
Institute (TERI) gasifier installed at Gaul Pahari campus, New Delhi

 
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Municipal Sanitary Landfills

Sanitary landfill is a modern engineering landfill where waste is allowed to decompose into
biologically and chemically inert materials in a setting isolated from the environment. Sanitary
landfill minimise the harmful impact of solid waste on the environment through the use of the
following mechanism:
● Reduction of groundwater contamination through leachate collection and treatment
● Control of surface water contamination through runoff
● Reduction of air contamination due to gases, litter, dust, or bad odour
● Control of other problems due to rodents pests, fire, bird menace, slope failure, erosion,
etc.

The term sanitary landfill is used herein to describe a unit operation for final disposal of
‘Municipal Solid Waste’ on land, designed and constructed with the objective of minimising
impact to the environment.

The design of the sanitary landfill focuses on optimised leachate management, as leachate is a
main source of potential environmental pollution. It is important to minimise leachate generation
and to avoid leachate being retained for a long time in the landfill body.
A landfill can be both above ground or partially below ground, based on the local
hydro-geological situation and the availability of land. Where abandoned quarries are to be used
as potential sanitary landfill sites, the landfill could be below ground, depending on the site
situation.
Above ground landfills have the advantage that leachate flows by gravity according to the natural
surface slope; leachate is collected in the main leachate pipe (header pipe), which is laid to
extend beyond the footprint of the landfill. Leachate is pumped only from outside the footprint of
the landfill.
If the water table is not close to the ground surface, landfill base can be at a level below the
ground, by excavation, to accommodate more waste per unit area of land.
However, below ground landfills are to be engineered and constructed appropriately to address

 
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the following issues:
● additional costs for excavation;
● the need to pump leachate during and beyond the active life of the landfill;
● environmental risks caused by nonfunctional pumps;
● potential for retention of leachate in the waste body;
● no possibility of pipe cleansing and controlling;
● pumping cost for the leachate during the lifetime and the aftercare phase of the landfill.
The life cycle of a municipal landfill undergoes five distinct phases.

Initial adjustment (Phase I)

As the waste is placed in the landfill, the void spaces contain high volumes of molecular oxygen
(O​2​). With added and compacted wastes, the O​2​ content of the landfill bioreactor strata gradually
decreases. Microbial populations grow, density increases. Aerobic biodegradation dominates, i.e.
the primary electron acceptor is O​2​.

Transition (Phase II)

The O​2​ is rapidly degraded by the existing microbial populations. The decreasing O​2​ leads to less
aerobic and more anaerobic conditions in the layers. The primary electron acceptors during
transition are nitrates and sulphates, since O​2​ is rapidly displaced by CO​2​ in the effluent gas.

Acid formation (Phase III)

Hydrolysis of the biodegradable fraction of the solid waste begins in the acid formation phase,
which leads to rapid accumulation of​ ​volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the leachate. The increased
organic acid content decreases the leachate​ ​pH from approximately 7.5 to 5.6.

Methane fermentation (Phase IV)

The acid formation phase intermediary products (e.g. acetic, propionic, and butyric acids) are
converted to CH​4​ and CO​2​ by methanogenic microorganisms. As VFAs are metabolized by the
methanogens, the landfill water pH returns to neutrality. The leachate's organic strength,
expressed as oxygen demand, decreases at a rapid rate with increases in CH​4​ and CO​2​ gas

 
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production. This is the longest decomposition phase.

Final maturation and stabilization (Phase V)

The rate of microbiological activity slows during the last phase of waste decomposition as the
supply of nutrients limits the chemical reactions, e.g. as​ ​bioavailable phosphorus becomes
increasingly scarce. CH​4​ production almost completely disappears, with O​2​ and oxidized species
gradually reappearing in the gas wells as O​2​ permeates downwardly from the troposphere.

There are 59 constructed ​landfill​ sites, and 376 are under planning stage in ​India​ as reported by
CPCB (2013). The properly engineered ​landfills​ are seldom found in emerging economies like
India

Examples : Mumbai (Deonar and Gorai) with 5.6 MW, Ahmedabad (Pirana) 1.3 MW, Delhi
(Bhalswa, Ghazipur, and Okhla) 8.4 MW, and Pune (Uruli) 0.7 MW annually.

Let us consider a situation where there is no MSW management and no sanitary landfill. Here all
the waste generated ( household, industrial, hazardous, radioactive, etc) is dumped openly.

 
18 
 
 
Not only this will end up affecting our environment by polluting air, using up valuable land, but
will also create a troublesome living situation.

Rate at which we are generating waste on a daily basis has crossed the safe limit long ago, so the
traditional open dumping is no longer suitable.
 
 
Pyrolysis Plant

After analysing all the modes of MSW treatment, I found pyrolysis to be the most promising one
and that it has the maximum area of improvement.

Pyrolysis is defined as the thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic derivatives under inert

conditions in an oxygen deficient environment. Extensive research work has been done in recent
years for thermochemical conversion of biomass into biofuels (bio oil, biochar, and biogas) using
pyrolysis technology.

 
19 
 
 

The fundamental chemical reaction is very complex and consists of several steps. The end
products of biomass pyrolysis consist of biochar, bio oil and gases.

PYROLYSIS END SOLID CHARCOAL, BIOCHAR

PRODUCTS
LIQUID BIO -OIL/PYROLYSIS OIL

GASS NON CONDENSABLE

SYN-GASES : H2, CH4, CO,
CO2, N2CH4

 
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The organic material present in the biomass substrate starts to decompose around 350-550C and
it can proceed until 700-800C without the presence of air. Biomass is mainly composed of long
polymeric chains of cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, pectin etc. the larger molecules of organic
material start to decompose to yield smaller molecules, which are released from the process
stream as gases, condensable vapour and solid char.

TEMPERATURE TYPE OF REACTION END PRODUCT

Less than 350C Moisture loss, Carbonyl and carboxyl group

depolymerization, free radical products, CO and CO2, gas
generation liberation, biochar formation

Between 350-450C Substitution for breaking of Tar production containing

glycosidic chain of levoglucosan, anhydrides and
polysaccharide oligosaccharides

Above 450C Dehydration, rearrangement Acetaldehyde, glyoxal and

and fission of sugar units acrolein production

Above 500C A mix of all above processes A mix of al above products

Condensation Unsaturated products A highly reactive char residue

condense and cleave to the containing trapped free
char radicals

Catalyst used:

Catalysts like silica alumina, zeolites, MCM-41 are used to support the reaction. Catalysts with
higher acidic strength have proven to provide fuel in the end product with the highest octane
number. REY zeolites are the most prefered catalyst used, it produces pyrolysis oil with
approximately 20-25 as its octane number which is almost equal to that of diesel.

 
21 
 
 

End product

1. Syngas:

Eg: H2, CH4, CO, CO2, N2C4H4

Used in synthetic natural gas (SNG), ammonia and urea plant, methanol plant, electricity
generators

2. Biochar:

Charcoal like substance, obtained from burning agricultural materials (biomass), useful as an
additive for soil amendment, adn energy resources, cement and construction industry

3. Pyrolysis oil:

Under investigation as a substitute to petroleum. Non volatile, corrosive, immiscibility with

fossil fuels, thermal instability, tendency to polymerize when exposed to air.

Value Addition

The most prominent thing that i understood was that pyrolysis plants are the MVP(most valuable
player) in MSW treatment. Has the most potential, scope for improvement and is the most
profitable. For a 6TDP (tons per day) capacity pyrolysis plant. It is capable of producing
60*3.7lt*6 = 1332lts of pyrolysis oil a day. Where the production cost per liter comes out to be
just Rs15 only. Whereas the market price of the same is 30-35Rs. This shows more than 200%
profit margin.

Other than this the challenges that are understood were more at macro level.

 
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Challenges

● Awareness to enhance segregation

Ecological awareness and citizen participation to segregate waste at source, door-to-door

collection, and disposal in appropriate collecting bins is imperative. The awareness plays an
important role in MSWM and augments the efficiency of waste management stream. It is the
most critical phase in the whole process of MSWM, which helps in handling solid waste leading
to ultimate success. However, in India, the present scenario reveals that there is almost no
segregation of garbage at source which leads to various environmental problems and it becomes
very difficult to segregate waste at transfer stations or in landfill or treatment sites. Also, due to
lack of coordination among the residents and lack of planned cities in India, the residents throw
garbage improperly. Apart from this, the community bins are not located in the close vicinity and
the number of ULBs employees is not adequate as per population residing in that area.

● Characterization of MSW

India is a vast country divided into different climatic zones, different food habits, and different
living standards thereby producing waste of different types. Till date, no comprehensive studies
have been conducted to cover almost all cities and towns of India to characterize the waste
generated and disposed of in landfill. The policy-makers rely on the limited source of
information available from few places thereby are unable to provide appropriate solutions for the
kind of waste produced for a particular region.

● Urbanization and lack of appropriate level funding

With the population growth, the challenge to provide adequate infrastructure in urban areas and
new landfill site selection is important. Most of the landfill sites are running beyond their
capacity in metropolitan cities. Inadequate financial support to cater to waste management
problem aggravates it. Due to the financial crunch ULBs do not have adequate infrastructure to
provide suitable solutions.

 
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● Implementation of rules at ground level

ULBs are not implementing MSWR adequately as revealed by various government reports; thus
it is difficult to manage the MSW properly. There is a need to create a dedicated group of
officers and skilled staff for ULBs with specialization in MSWM. Adequate training and
hands-on experiments would enable them to identify bottlenecks at implementation level and
take appropriate action

● Appropriate technological solution

Environmentally benign practices are the need of the hour to cope with the almost exponential
growth of MSW. For this, appropriate technological solutions through PPP are required.
However, lack of competency and insufficient financial support are major threats to ULBs for
development of MSW infrastructure. There is a need for PPP to implement management and
handling with the latest technology/know-how with the subject experts, firms and companies.
Establishment of good public governance in compliance with a secured regulatory framework
and appropriate financial support and strict contract implementation is required for the success of
PPP. Capacity building and availability of skilled labor, familiarity with new and as well as best
practices available for SWM, financial incentives for identifying new techno-feasible solutions,
appropriate and quick decision at ULBs level for smooth implementation are real challenges.

Recommendations

● The community should pay to augment inadequate resources for MSWM of municipal
bodies. Community participation in SWM is the key to sustain a project related to
management of solid waste. Till date no such tax has been levied for SWM.
● The people should be educated to realize the importance of source segregation at
generation point as biodegradables, inert and recyclable material for proper waste
management.

 
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● Viable decentralized composting plants should be installed to reduce the load on ULBs
for collection and transportation of MSW, which subsequently culminates in reduction of
the pressure exerted on the landfills.
● For large cities, zone-wise decentralized composting units should be set up. Through
community participation, segregated biodegradable waste from individual
communities/units should be collected and disposed into these decentralized composting
units.
● Characterization of waste at collection and also at disposal point should be made and be
available in the public domain. Government should take initiative to encourage
Universities, technical Institutions to take up waste management in its curriculum.
Assistance of academic institutions should be solicited in characterization of waste in
their vicinity. Thereby most part of India would be covered and location-specific
appropriate solutions for waste management can be developed. It can also help to select
suitable waste-to-energy technologies for particular regions.
● The waste should be treated as a resource and formal recycling sector/industries be
developed to recycle non-biodegradable recyclable components from the waste thereby
providing employment to rag-pickers and absorbing them in mainstream. Also a policy,
fiscal intensive and development of quality standards for reuse and recycling of C&D
waste be developed and notified so that producers dispose/reuse it as per guidelines,
thereby reducing burden on landfill.
● Manufacturing of non-recyclable polyethylene bags should be banned or research should
be initiated to develop biodegradable polyethylene.
● In most parts of India, sweeper and rag-pickers are still considered an inferior class of
citizens despite several laws in place to bring dignity to their profession. To change
people’s views and perspectives, awareness regarding this important service to the
community should be initiated and manpower engaged in such activities should be named
as Green brigade/Crew, and so on.
● Though, in India, prevailing MSWR does not permit leachate/water/liquid addition in
landfill, biodegradable waste gets mixed again during transportation and finally disposed

 
25 
 
 
of in landfill. Therefore, practices of leachate/liquid recirculation in landfill should be
encouraged to enhance waste stabilization and gas recovery as practiced in developed
countries. Modification and provision for it should be made in MSWR accordingly.
● Protection of groundwater contamination from leachate percolation from open
dump/landfill sites should be made compulsory. Appropriate technological solution
should be adopted to achieve this goal.

Conclusion
Municipal solid waste generated depends on population climate, urbanization, socioeconomic
criteria etc. Overall MSWM practices adapted in India at present are inadequate. It is also noted
that efforts are made to improve MSWM in major cities but due attention is not paid for MSW of
medium and small-scale towns. The current regulations (MSWM rules, 2000) are very
[Link] deficiencies are identified in the implementation of policy. Non compliances in
MSWM are largely due to lack of training, financial constraints, lack of proper planning and
leadership. For a developing country like India having 71%, population residing in
small-scale towns and villages proper waste management policy should be implemented in
these areas. Optimization studies should be carried out to explore the feasibility of integrated
waste management through clustering of small towns and their surrounding villages for better
MSWM.

Aim of this project report was to analyse and conceptualate engineering solutions for MSW of
large cities in india.

References
1. [Link]

2. [Link]
gaattistiba/VidZ1000/[Link]-Solid_waste_management.pdf

3. [Link]
5%20-%20Waste_management.pdf

 
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4. [Link]
%20Management%20in%20India_Final.pdf

5. [Link]
p

6. [Link]

7. [Link]
TE_MANAGEMENT_IN_INDIA_A_REVIEW_AND_SOME_NEW_RESULTS

8. [Link]

9. [Link]

10. [Link]

Internship Completion Certificate  

Next page. 

 
27 
 Certificate ID : VCE/COC8260 Date : 8th Aug 2020

Certificate of Completion

This certificate is awarded to Mr. Shashwat Mishra from Netaji Subhas Institute of
Technology , for successfully completing his online internship at M/s Vardhan Consulting Engineers
as Engineering Intern during 14th June 2020 to 8th Aug 2020.

We appreciate his focus towards learning and analyzing about Waste to Energy – MSW
Management and completing his internship project along with the report submission.

Shashwat Mishra’s internship project title was “Analyzing and conceptualizing engineering
solutions for MSW of large cities in India.”.

During his tenure as Engineering Intern, we found his efforts sincere, meticulous and result
oriented.

We wish all the best in his future endeavors.

Neha Kumari
Sr. Manager - HR & Internship Coordinator

hr@[Link], +91 979 111 2715

Certificate URL : [Link]

Vardhan Consulting Engineers

Management Office : 55/108, Soi 11 Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Thailand, corporate@[Link], +66 972 151 276
Registered Address : Vardhan House, Anand Bazar, Danapur Cantt, Patna, Bihar, India ([Link]