waste as such in the world. Almost every component of waste possesses some
potential and can become substrate in the production cycle if it is treated scientifically. Generally, there are two types of waste, i.e., solid and liquid waste, and both
wastes have different properties. Solid waste means and includes solid or semisolid
domestic waste including sanitary waste, commercial waste, institutional waste,
catering, and marketing waste and other nonresidential wastes, street sweepings,
silt removed or collected from the surface drains, horticulture waste, construction
and demolition waste and treated biomedical waste excluding industrial hazardous
waste, biomedical waste, and e-waste generated in an area under local body
(MoEF&CC 2015). Solid waste generation is directly proportional to the growth
of the population. Rapid industrialization and population explosion in India has led
to the migration of people from villages to cities, which generate thousands of tons of
MSW daily. Earlier the amount of waste generated in rural areas was much less and
self-sufficient and easily manageable. But lately, the spread of consumerism into
rural areas has led to an increased generation of solid waste that has different
characteristics than the traditional waste that was generated earlier. As per the
2011 census, the rural population in India has increased from 743 to 833 million,
which accounts for 68.84% of the total population. It is estimated that this rural
population produces 0.3–0.4 million tons of waste per day (SWM in Rural India: A
guide to Gram Panchayats 2016). Unplanned urbanization coupled with rapid
population growth and changes in the standard of living in urban centers of India
have led to tremendous increase in the amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW)
which includes a mix of dry and wet waste, dumping in drains and open spaces,
disposal without treatment for energy or resource recovery. On the other hand, liquid
waste or wastewater is generated from industrial facilities, intensive agricultural
methods, and municipalities (domestic sewage) in urban and rural areas of India.
Subsequently, high population density also results in increased volumes of wastewater being produced from industries. Besides this, the majority of urban cities in
developing countries dispose of the urban runoff and sewerage water directly into
urban water bodies without any treatments or with partial treatments due to its high
setup and maintenance cost of a treatment plant (Tomar and Suthar 2011). But,
finding a proper solution to treat this waste has become a serious issue nowadays. As
per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB Report 2009), about 8–51% of liquid
waste is collected and treated in treatment facilities, and the treated effluent (industrial and domestic) is disposed of into our water bodies. These wastes are generated
by commercial, residential agricultural, and industrial operation and release to the
environment without undergoing proper treatment. Due to which, it is now mandatory for municipal corporation/urban local bodies (ULB) to collect 100% of the
waste and to segregate and transport the waste to treatment and management
facilities. There are 279 compost plants, 172 biomethanation plants, 29 refusederived fuel (RDF) plants, and 8 wastes to energy plants in India (CPCB Report
2009). Despite having so many treatment facilities, India still ranks high in waste
accumulation. With proper technology, all this waste could be turned into wealth,
but sadly waste is finally dumped in low-lying area at the periphery of city limits
without cleaning it; thus leachate formed in landfill percolate deep down and tends to
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S. I. Singh et al.
potential and can become substrate in the production cycle if it is treated scientifically. Generally, there are two types of waste, i.e., solid and liquid waste, and both
wastes have different properties. Solid waste means and includes solid or semisolid
domestic waste including sanitary waste, commercial waste, institutional waste,
catering, and marketing waste and other nonresidential wastes, street sweepings,
silt removed or collected from the surface drains, horticulture waste, construction
and demolition waste and treated biomedical waste excluding industrial hazardous
waste, biomedical waste, and e-waste generated in an area under local body
(MoEF&CC 2015). Solid waste generation is directly proportional to the growth
of the population. Rapid industrialization and population explosion in India has led
to the migration of people from villages to cities, which generate thousands of tons of
MSW daily. Earlier the amount of waste generated in rural areas was much less and
self-sufficient and easily manageable. But lately, the spread of consumerism into
rural areas has led to an increased generation of solid waste that has different
characteristics than the traditional waste that was generated earlier. As per the
2011 census, the rural population in India has increased from 743 to 833 million,
which accounts for 68.84% of the total population. It is estimated that this rural
population produces 0.3–0.4 million tons of waste per day (SWM in Rural India: A
guide to Gram Panchayats 2016). Unplanned urbanization coupled with rapid
population growth and changes in the standard of living in urban centers of India
have led to tremendous increase in the amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW)
which includes a mix of dry and wet waste, dumping in drains and open spaces,
disposal without treatment for energy or resource recovery. On the other hand, liquid
waste or wastewater is generated from industrial facilities, intensive agricultural
methods, and municipalities (domestic sewage) in urban and rural areas of India.
Subsequently, high population density also results in increased volumes of wastewater being produced from industries. Besides this, the majority of urban cities in
developing countries dispose of the urban runoff and sewerage water directly into
urban water bodies without any treatments or with partial treatments due to its high
setup and maintenance cost of a treatment plant (Tomar and Suthar 2011). But,
finding a proper solution to treat this waste has become a serious issue nowadays. As
per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB Report 2009), about 8–51% of liquid
waste is collected and treated in treatment facilities, and the treated effluent (industrial and domestic) is disposed of into our water bodies. These wastes are generated
by commercial, residential agricultural, and industrial operation and release to the
environment without undergoing proper treatment. Due to which, it is now mandatory for municipal corporation/urban local bodies (ULB) to collect 100% of the
waste and to segregate and transport the waste to treatment and management
facilities. There are 279 compost plants, 172 biomethanation plants, 29 refusederived fuel (RDF) plants, and 8 wastes to energy plants in India (CPCB Report
2009). Despite having so many treatment facilities, India still ranks high in waste
accumulation. With proper technology, all this waste could be turned into wealth,
but sadly waste is finally dumped in low-lying area at the periphery of city limits
without cleaning it; thus leachate formed in landfill percolate deep down and tends to
88
S. I. Singh et al.