Waste leaves Andhra Pradesh down in the dumps

Hyderabad: When it comes to managing solid waste, urban local bodies in the state are down in the dumps.  At present only 7 per cent of the total municipal solid waste generated is being scientifically treated.

Most of the urban local bodies like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati etc. have failed even in the collection of 100 per cent waste. Every day, hundreds of tonnes of waste accumulates and the heap is piling on.

According to an estimate, urban areas will be home to over 43 per cent of the state’s population by 2029. This will lead to a huge increase in water consumption and waste generation, increasing the stress on natural resources and environment.  

A two-fold increase in municipal waste and sewage, 1.5 fold increase of water demand and a five-fold increase in electricity consumption are projected in urban areas.

Air pollution will be a critical issue owing to increased industrialisation and vehicle use. The officials said that the air pollution has a strong correlation with increase in urbanisation and this is expected to continue.

One of the major issues in urban local bodies is in waste handling is segregation at source, failing which waste treatment gets inefficient.  

A senior officer said that at present, most of the solid waste and over 90 per cent of e-waste is recycled informally and no set safety norms for recycling and safe disposal are followed.

Visakhapatnam generates about 941 tonnes of waste every day, but the collection is 722 tonnes (77 per cent efficiency) and treatment efficiency is 0 per cent.

In Vijayawada, 550 tonnes of waste is generated every day and the collection is 450 tonnes.  Here too, treatment efficiency is 0 per cent, like many other ULBs in the state.