Context

• Recently Solid Waste Management (SWM) in New Delhi has been criticized by the Supreme Court.
• It is noteworthy that more than 3,800 tonnes per day (TPD) of solid waste remains untreated in the national capital.
• This waste reaches landfills and endangers public health and the environment.

Key Points

• Status of SWM System of Delhi: According to the 2011 census, the population of New Delhi was about 1.7 crore, which is expected to be about 2.32 crore in the year 2024.
• On an average, each person generates about 0.6 kg of waste per day. In view of this, the entire city generates about 13,000 TPD of waste,which is approximately 42 lakh tonnes per year.
• The city's population is expected to grow to 2.85 crore by 2031, so waste generation could go up to 17,000 TPD.
• If we talk about waste collection, about 90% of the waste generated in the city is collected by three municipal corporations: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Cantonment Board and New Delhi Municipal Corporation.
• Generally, about 50-55% of the waste generated in Indian cities is biodegradable wet waste and 35% is non-biodegradable wet waste.

‘SWM’ Processing Capacity in Delhi

• New Delhi has waste-processing facilities at Okhla, Bhalswa, Narela, Bawana, Tehkhand, SMA Industrial Area, Nilothi and Ghazipur.
• The collective design capacity of these facilities is approximately 9,200 TPD. This includes composting facilities handling about 900-1,000 tpd and waste-to-energy projects of 8,200 tpd.
• However, the MCD is disposing of 3,800 tpd of untreated waste in three designated landfills: Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla.
• These landfills consisting of untreated wet and dry waste generate methane gasses, leak and cause landfill fires, thereby adversely affecting the surrounding environment. Due to accumulation of untreated waste in these landfills, 2.58 crore tonnes of old waste has accumulated on 200 acres of land.
• MCD started biomining in 2019 to reduce the amount of waste, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted these efforts. Initially it is planned to be completed by 2024, this work is likely to take two to three years.
• However, environmental impacts will persist unless fresh waste is scientifically processed. With the current accumulation of 3,800 TPD of unprocessed waste, landfills will only get bigger and taller.

Challenges facing MCD

• MCD faces a variety of challenges in dealing with waste within the city. A major issue is the lack of waste separation at source. Many homes and commercial establishments do not do this. As a result, unprocessed mixed waste enters landfills.
• Additionally, waste processing plants require large plots of land of about 30-40 acres, which is a challenge in Delhi. This challenge results in a large portion of the waste remaining untreated.
• There is also a lack of public awareness about proper waste management practices, which contributes to littering and improper disposal habits, drawing the MCD's attention towards cleaning open spaces instead of processing wet waste.
• The lack of regular garbage collection services in some areas also increases the accumulation of waste as well as litter, while illegal dumping in open areas and water bodies increases the pressure on the municipal corporation, requiring more resources for cleaning. 
• Additionally, lack of coordination among various stakeholders results in inefficient waste management, further complicating MCD's efforts to resolve the city's waste management issues.

What efforts need to be made to separate waste?

• As the national capital, Delhi needs to increase its processing capacity to manage daily waste. Per capita waste production as well as the amount of waste is expected to increase in the coming years.
• Keeping this in mind, the MCD should prepare a waste-management plan to cater to the needs of about three crore people, while the total design capacity of the city's waste processing facility should be 18,000 TPD.
• Biodegradable wet waste should be composted or used to generate biogas.
• The design capacity of the wet-waste-processing system should be set at 9,000 tonnes.
• This will require significant efforts from the MCD: identifying land, setting up composting facilities and operating them.
• As far as non-biodegradable dry waste is concerned: about 2% will be recyclable, and can be sent to recycling facilities. The remaining 33% will still not be recyclable.

Conclusion

• To address the above problem, Delhi's SWM system should integrate decentralized options for both wet and dry waste, supported by large processing facilities to ensure that all waste generated is scientifically processed.
• The city must also ensure that existing processing facilities operate at full capacity, while new facilities are being built to ensure that no waste remains untreated.
• Along with this, urban local bodies are also encouraged to learn about the best practices of other cities in India and abroad on efficient SWM processing.

Important Facts For Exam

New Delhi 

• Chief Minister: Arvind Kejriwal
• Deputy Governor: Vinay Kumar Saxena
• Union Territory: 1 November 1956