Optimization model for integrated municipal solid waste management in Mumbai, India

Mumbai, the largestmetropolitan city in India, generated 6,256 tons ofwaste per day in 2001. It is the responsibility of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to provide Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management services; however, the MCGM is not able to handle the increasing quantity of waste. As a result, waste litters all over the place giving rise to health and environmental problems. Hence, there is a need to involve private sector and community participation in waste management. In this paper, a linear programming model is developed to integrate different options and stakeholders involved in MSW management in Mumbai. Various economic and environmental costs associated with MSW management are taken into consideration while developing the model. Introduction Waste is an unavoidable by-product of human activities. Economic development, urbanization and improved living standards in cities increase the quantity and complexity of generated solid waste. If accumulated, it leads to degradation of urban environment, stresses natural resources and leads to health problems (CPCB, 2000; NEERI, 1994; UN, 2000). Cities in the world are facing a high level of pollution; the situation in developing countries is more acute, this is partly caused by inadequate provision of basic services likewater supply, sanitation facilities, transport infrastructure andwaste collection (UNCHSHabitat, 2001). Municipal corporations of the developing countries are not able to handle the increasing quantity ofwaste, which leads to uncollected waste on roads and other public places. Mumbai, the largest metropolitan city in India, presents one of the most critical Solid Waste Management (SWM) systems. The population of Mumbai grew from 9.9 million in 1991 to 11.9 million in 2001, an increase of 20 per cent (Director of Census Operations, 2001). During the same period Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) increased from 4439 to 6256 tons per day, an increase of 41 per cent, (NEERI, 1994; MCGM, 2001). This implies that the per capita waste generation has increased from 0.45 kg to ∗ The author would like to thank three reviewers for their comments which have improved the manuscript substantially.