Abstract

Planning and implementing an integrated, effective solid waste management system is one of the biggest challenges in large cities. In this study, all the wards under the Shivamogga City Corporation (SCC) were surveyed to collect data on the number of households, commercial establishments and bulk waste generators to determine the average waste generation rate in each ward. To determine the total waste generation in the city, average quantity of waste generated by each generator was multiplied with the estimated number of waste generators. To find the average household waste generation, waste sampled from 400 households and 100 commercial establishments was recorded. A waste characterisation study was also conducted over a period of 3 days at the transfer station. GIS techniques were used to prepare the various maps to understand the population growth, road network, ward boundaries etc. The study showed that the total quantity of waste generated in the Shivamogga city can be estimated as 210 tons per day (TPD), including 34 TPD of silt waste from drainage. Through the sampling studies conducted on field, it has been estimated that households and commercial establishments are the major waste generators in the city, with households generate about 55% of waste generated in the city and commercial establishments generate about 11% of the waste adding up to 66% of the total waste generated. This paper also provides recommendations on building adaptable solutions for the existing problems in Shivamogga.