The Effectiveness of Solid Waste Collection Services in Municipalities of Kerala

Materials useless for the original user and in a solid form are called solid wastes. Solid waste issues are growing as a social menace world over. Its unprecedented impact on health, environment and ecology are extremely vulnerable to the living species on land and under water. Developed countries are managing solid waste more effectively but in developing and under developed countries most of the solid waste generated are not collected or treated properly. In India solid waste is a burgeoning issue. The state Kerala lying in the south west corner of India is not up to the mark in its solid waste management efforts. The Municipalities of Kerala being the authorities responsible for managing solid waste is its territorial limits are found to be suffocating for funds and equipments to meet their tasks. The study concentrates on evaluating the waste collection services of Kerala municipalities to test their level of reach and effectiveness. Waste collection is the most crucial area of solid waste management as of any delay in collecting waste which cannot be processed by the waste generators will prove to be fatal.

Solid waste management is the responsibility of the municipalities in its geographical limits. Management does not mean waste collection, treatment and disposal by municipalities themselves. It really means campaigning for awareness, providing the facilities and supporting the waste generators to treat or dispose their waste in their own premises. But the residents of municipal limits find it difficult to process and dispose waste in a healthy manner because of lack of awareness, commitment and free space. Naturally the responsibility of waste collection and treatment is falling upon the shoulders of the municipalities. In this context it is attempted to study the waste collection services‘ effectiveness in municipalities of the state by analyzing its reach and level of segregation. The success of waste management is determined by the promptness of waste collection and the level of source segregation. Hence the problem is stated as “THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SOLID WASTE COLLECTION SERVICES IN MUNICIPALITIES OF KERALA”

Generally the study looks into the effectiveness of waste collection services in municipal limits of Kerala. The specific objectives of the study are; 1. To identify which municipality out of the selected sample is most effective in waste segregation efforts. 2. To trace out which municipality is leading in participation in waste collection efforts. 3. To know which municipality is using modern methods of waste collection effectively.

DESIGN

The study uses both primary and secondary data for gathering information. Various publications of Government Departments, other Agencies and Municipal Authorities are the sources of secondary data. By Simple Random Sampling method nine municipalities in Kerala are selected from sixty for conducting the study. The selected municipalities are Thiruvalla, Varkala, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Cherthala, Kothamanglam, Palakkad, Koilandy and structured questionnaire is administered among them to collect data about the effectiveness waste collection services. The sample size is 240 split in the ratio of 30:26:26:32:24:24:31:24:23 respectively.

Managing solid wastes in the municipal limits are the primary responsibility of municipalities. There is a separate wing of experts for supervising municipal solid waste management in each municipality. Managing waste does not mean the physical collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of wastes. But it means campaigning, aiding and supporting waste generators for effective waste management. Hence municipalities being local bodies are the facilitators of waste management and are expected to do it in a healthy and environmentally friendly manner. Lack of infrastructure, resources, expertise and professionalism makes the task of waste management by municipalities very bleak. Decentralised waste management is the modern and healthy method of waste management to be followed by local authorities. It ensures minimum exposure of waste to public and possibility of littering is very limited. In such a way the possibility of potential health threats can be minimized. But in municipal limits of Kerala municipalities are forced to collect and treat waste because of lack of commitment of residents. So they are expected to provide all waste collection services to the inhabitants.

The analysis tools used in the study are descriptive statistics like mean score, standard deviation and standard error. For testing of hypothesis it is using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) with the help of SPSS Software.

Kothamanglam, Palakkad, Koilandy and Kalpetta are the sample municipalities selected for the study. The sample size is 240 split in the ratio of 30:26:26:32:24:24:31:24:23 respectively.

From Table 1.2 it is observed that out of the nine municipalities Palakkad follows the best Segregation practices in waste collection services as its Mean Score is 22.9032, the highest among all. Considering Participation in Waste Collection Efforts Koyilandi is the best performer as its Mean Score is 64.6667, the highest among all. In the opinion of the respondents in terms of Use of Modern Methods Kottayam municipality is leading with an Average Score of 30.8125 meaning it is supported with the best equipments in sufficient quantity for waste collection services. It is normal to test whether the variations in the Mean Scores are significant or not. MANOVA is used for testing the significant difference by formulating the following hypotheses;

Pillai‘s Trace the most reliable test used for testing significance in MANOVA says all variations are significant as a bundle at 5% Level (p<0.05 as per last column of Table 1.3). More over at individual level also the variations are found to be significant at 5% Level (P<0.05 as per last column of Table 1.4). Hence in all cases the null hypotheses are rejected at 5% Level of Significance. There is sufficient variation among waste collection practices such as Segregation, Participation in Waste Collection Efforts and Use of Modern Methods among municipalities in Kerala.

1. Out of the nine municipalities Palakkad follows the best Segregation practices in waste collection services. 2. Koyilandi is most effective in coordinating all agencies in Participation in Waste Collection Efforts. 3. In terms of Use of Modern Methods Kottayam municipality is leading. It is supported with the best equipments in sufficient quantity for waste collection services.

From the above findings of the study the following suggestions are being evolved: using the old and out of date methods. 2. The waste management of municipalities are supervised by a small group of health inspectors in each municipality. They are not properly trained and not provided with sufficient equipments. 3. Urgent steps should be taken to increase the staff strength of solid waste management team. 4. Municipalities are running short of financial resources to manage solid wastes. They should be provided with adequate funds for effective waste management. 5. Decentralized waste treatment system must be implemented and municipalities should be relieved of the responsibility of waste collection. Waste generators should be taught to treat and dispose their waste in their own premises.

10. CONCLUSION

The most crucial activity in solid waste management is waste collection and transportation. A little carelessness will attract long-lasting implications on the ecology and environment. So waste should be collected and transported without littering and without exposing to public places. Wastes ending up in water bodies and public places are inviting a lot of health issues. Burning waste emits lot of toxic gases leading to greenhouse effect. Decomposed waste releases methane to atmosphere which is also a greenhouse gas. Waste treatment techniques like biomethanation and composting at the point of origin will reduce those impacts. These treatment techniques will provide electricity, cooking gas and high quality manure for household use. As more than fifty percent of municipal solid waste is contributed by households they have to work for these treatment techniques so that waste will not be exposed and the health problems can also be reduced. Let us work for a cleaner environment as it is our responsibility to hand over the fast depleting natural resources to the coming generations. Seven billion dreams and a single planet; consume with care.

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Associate Professor of Commerce, SAS SNDP Yogam College, Konni, Pathanamthitta, Kerala psajithps@gmail.com