"MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAI INTRODUCTION In early period the human disposal and other wastes did not create a significant problem because of population was small and the amount of land available for the incorporation of solid waste was large. However, problems with dumping of wastes can be traced from the 14th century, littering of food and other solid wastes in medieval towns led to the breeding of rats and the epidemic of the plague outbreak killed half of the Europeans and caused many consequent epidemics and high death tolls. Now-a-days, new landfill sites and solid waste management, solid waste issue is of major concern related to the limited space and social acceptance, all policies in this area must be environmentally friendly, economically sound and communally acceptable to assurance their success; since social movements and conflicts between residents and authorities sometimes lead to closure of an existing facility or to fail an applied policy. Therefore, in dealing with solid waste, there are two essential requirements: reduce the amount of solid waste generated and then an effective system to manage the waste. It must be consider the whole life cycle of waste from the cradle to the grave. An integrated system gives the flexibility to channel waste via different treatments as economic, environmental and social conditions change. However, for a Solid Waste Management (SWM) system to reduce solid waste effectively, waste prevention is necessary. Waste prevention is an alternative to avoid solid waste generation. Waste prevention, waste reduction or source reduction refers to any change in the design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products (including packaging) to reduce their amount, toxicity and fugitive emissions before they enter into solid waste stream. Recently, new studies have beendeveloped in order to understand how prevention helps to reduce solid waste generation. Most of them are based on the conventional solid waste management, which do not include all the activities in urban cleansing. Although, all these studies have presented trusty data, no absolute results have been achieved. Economic and environmental aspects must be included at the same time to improve the decision - making tool. Solid wastes are now classified in different ways. On the basis of sources of origin it is classified into Industrial, Hospital and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It is also classified into hazardous and non-hazardous categories on the basis of the toxicity of materials in the waste. Municipal solid waste can be generally defined as wastes generated by residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, construction, demolition and other municipal services. But this definition is not strictly followed by studies and in most of the studies wastes generated by industrial, construction and demolition and municipal services are excluded. Schubeler (1996) points out that although certain contaminated medical wastes and hazardous industrial wastes are not included by definition, in many nations these are in fact part of-the municipal waste stream. Municipal solid waste has been defined by The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of the Republic of Philippines ( 2000) as the wastes produced from activities within local government units which include a combination of domestic, commercial, institutional and industrial wastes and street litters. Solid Waste Management (SWM) as a concept has evolved over a period of time. The earlier definitions gave importance to the operational aspects of solid waste management starting from the generation of waste to its final disposal. Gilpin ( 1976) defined solid waste management as a planned system of effectively controlling the production, storage, collection transportation, processing and disposal or utilization of solid waste in a sanitary, aesthetically acceptable and economic manner. It includes all the administrative, financial, legal and planning functions as well as the physical aspects of solid waste handling. The Ecological Solid Waste Management as a discipline associated with the control of generation, 2 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIstorage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid wastes in a manner to public attitudes. In its scope, solid waste management includes all administrative, financial, legal planning and engineering functions in order to counter the problems raised by solid wastes. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Kansal A. et al., (1998) have exhibited that Delhi Municipal Solid Waste and Environment - An Appraisal. Poor solid waste management has serious implications on environment, society and economy. They assessed the impacts associated with the present system of Solid Waste Management in Delhi on environment and community health. George L. Van Houtven et al., (1999) have revealed that Household Behaviour under Alternative Pay-as-You-Throw Systems for Solid Waste. In 1994, residents of Marietta, Georgia, participated in a pay-as-you-throw solid waste demonstration project. Rather than pay a fixed monthly fee for collection, half of the residents paid a fee per reusable trash can, and half paid for each non reusable trash bag collected. Data from both a sample of households and city-wide totals indicate that the programs significantly reduced waste set-outs, even after accounting for increases in (un priced) recycling. The bag program caused larger reductions (36%) than the subscription can program (14%). Rough estimates of the program indicate both savings for residents and social welfare increases Scott J. Callan et al., (2001) have discussed Economics of Scale and Scope: A Cost Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Services. The economics literature in municipal solid waste markets is concerned primarily with demand-side issues and the associated policy implications. Few have studied the cost structure of this market, and none model have done multiple product nature of MSW services. They argue that the production of MSW services has two 3 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAImajor components-disposal and recycling, and that cost complementarities between the two activities may exist. Hence, they specify a multiple-output cost structure, which studies the relationship between recycling and disposal activity and investigates the extent of product-specific scale economies and overall scope of economies in this market. Mohd, Yusofi et al., ( 2002) have discussed that Role of Socio-Economic and Cultural Factors in Municipal Solid Waste Management Generation: A case study in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru. The absence of a comprehensive database on solid waste generation and composition appears to be the major drawback to the development of an integrated waste management system in Malaysia. A study conducted in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru has shown that such as attributes as income, education, and other socioeconomic factors barely affect the amount of waste generated. It seems that only family size and lifestyle factors, particularly the eating habits of residents, contribute significantly to variations in the generation of residential waste in the study area. While the amount increases with the size of family, it decreases as the respondents dine out more often.They suggest new insights concerning the role of social factors and lifestyle in affecting the generation of household waste. Jurczak G. M. ( 2003) has discussed the Relation between Education, Knowledge and Action for Better Waste Management in Poland.In recent years a significant increase in municipal solid waste amount has been noted in Poland, and yet there is no fully efficient system for its treatment. Undertaking projects for rational MSW management requires considering both technical facilities and social barriers (waste reduction, re-use and segregation in households). In Poland, attempts to educate and mobilise society to segregate recyclables have not yet produced satisfactory results. Societys awarenes s in this field needs to be raised. His purpose was to determine the level of knowledge and understanding about MSW management and the relationship between knowledge possessed and actions undertaken for various residential age groups in two Polish provinces. In all groups, 30% of the respondents showed a satisfactory level of knowledge, 4 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIwhilst an equally small number of individuals had undertaken actions for MSW management at home; people with a higher level of knowledge undertook such actions lightly more often.No significant differences between the provinces were found, but residents of town, where waste segregation has been introduced simultaneously with an information campaign, showed a higher level of knowledge. He points to the need to further educate people about MSW, and to encourage the teaching of pro- environmental attitudes. Madhushree Sekher (2004) has analyzed to Keeping Our Cities Clean; Urban Solid Waste Management in Karnataka. He examines the process of municipal solid waste management in our cities, focusing on the situation in Karnataka.It is reflective in nature, drawing on a case study of solid waste management process in Bangalore. It highlights the characteristic of municipal waste generated, the management practices involved and the stakeholders in the refuse collection and disposal service, and thereupon attempts to identify future interventions to strengthen the delivery of public municipal services. He argues that much more needs to be understood if institutional pluralism in the local government is to become an effective development strategy. PROPOSED STUDY AREA Chennai is situated on the north-east end of Tamil Nadu on the coast of Bay O O O of Bengal. It lies between 12 9' and 13 9' of the northern latitude and 80 O 12' and 80 19' of the southern longitude on a sandy shelving breaker swept beach. It stretches nearly 25.60 kms. along the Bay coast from Thiruvanmiyur inthe south toThiruvottiyur in the north and runs inland in aruggedsemi-circularfashion. It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal and on the remaining three sides byKanchipuram andThiruvallur Districts. 5 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIChennai is a low-lying area and the land surface is almost flat like a pancake. The even topography of the land throughout the district renders sub-divisions into natural regions rather difficult. It rises slightly as the distance from the sea-shore increases but the average elevation of the city is not more than 22' above mean-seal-level (MSL), while most of the localities are just at sea-level and drainage in such areas remains a serious problem. The city is intersected by two longitudinal streams, the Cooum and the Adyar. Cooum runs through the heart of the city and enters the sea in- between the university buildings and the Fort Saint George under beneath the Napier Bridge. These two rivers are almost stagnant and do not carry enough water except during rainy seasons. Cooum River starts fromKesavaramAnicut inKesavaram village built across Kortaliyar River. The surplus fromCooum tank joins this course at about 8 kms. lower down and this point is actually the head ofCooum river which is located at 48 kms. west of Chennai. The river receives a sizeable quantity of sewage from its neighbourhood for disposal. Though the riverAdyar can be traced to a point nearGuduvancheri village, it assumes the appearance of a stream only after it receives the surplus water from theChembarambakkam tank as wells as the drainage of the areas in the south-west of Chennai. Even-though the river has no commercial importance. OBJECTIVES 1. To study the existing practices of solid waste management and its environmental impacts on health in Chennai city. 2. To estimate the cost incurred due to Solid Waste Management by the Corporation of Chennai. 3. To estimate respondents Willingness to Pay (WTP) to improve Solid Waste Management in Chennai Corporation. 6 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAI4. To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the respondents towards solid waste management. 5. To suggest suitable measures in order to improve solid waste management of the Corporation. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Solid Waste Management is one of the greatest challenges for development all over the world. It is not only because SWM impact on the environment or health, but poor implementation of SWM hinders the nations progress towards Sustainable Development (SD). Accordingly there is a need for more comprehensive strategies for SWM within development processes. It is important to improve SWM for Sustainable Development through environmental conservation. The conceptual issues of this study will include the SWM practices to mitigate its impact on environmental and socio economic development, the perception of the people about SWM, and assess the impact of solid waste management on the environment and sustainable development. Furthermore, the study focuses on SWM not only as a government responsibility. It should also be done by every individual, since the waste is produced from households. The conceptual frame work illustrates the relationship between the presumed causes (independent variables like- lack of awareness, Ignorance by the local people, Weak policies, Lack of enough trained manpower, Inadequate funds etc) of poor waste management and the presumed effects (dependent variables)-what is manifested as a result of the phenomenon. It can be observed that the presumed causes (independent variables) lead to presumed effects ( dependent variables). Independent variables like lack of awareness lead to ignorance of the local people about the effects of waste management, and lack of enough trained manpower and weak policies and 7 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIinadequate funds are presumed to lead to indiscriminative dumping of wastes on roadsides; the residents set structures like buildingswithout dumping sites because of weak laws among others. It was found out that all these led to a number of Health problems and these include; Infrastructure destruction, Contamination of water bodies and Sanitation and hygiene and environmental degradation. However, it is presumed that strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks, capacity building and funding inventory of hazardous waste among others will yield several outputs like Proper waste management, improved health since the cause of illness, save income-that would have been spent on drugs and also save the environment from being polluted among others The Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) insight is that problems with solid waste management often have to do with more than lack of money and equipment. It can be attitude problems among the residents, waste management staff or private enterprises, or more serious factors as the institutional framework or social or cultural context. In these cases money is not the solution, but a change in social, institutional or political conditions is. It is important to remember that there is no absolute solution of solid waste management that fits to all cities and towns. Different systems in different parts of a city can also be needed. What works in the rich areas, might not be suitable in low income areas or on hillsides (Scheinberg, Klundert, & Anschütz, 2001, p. 10). The ISWM concept takes as a point of departure four basic principles: Equity, Effectiveness, Efficiency and Sustainability. Equity meaning that all citizens are entitled to an appropriate waste management system for environmental health reasons; Effectiveness saying the waste management model will lead to the safe removal of all waste. Efficiency makes the management of waste maximizing the benefits, minimizing the costs and optimizing the use of resources and Sustainability refers to the fact that the waste management system should be appropriate to the local conditions and feasible from a technical, environmental, social, economic, financial, 8 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIinstitutional and political perspective. It can maintain itself over time without exhausting the resources upon which it depends ( Scheinberg, Klundert, & Anschütz, 2001, p. 11). RESEARCH QUESTION The management of solid waste involves multiple storage process at the beginning stage as a source (primary storage or secondary storage), collection, transportation and final disposal of the refuse. There is no common SWM method which will be suitable for all cities; its varying from city to city. One has to approach managing solid waste in an innovative manner since selection of the best device and practice at each stage depends on a variety of specific circumstances to the city under consideration. The factors include socioeconomic as well as the nature and volume of waste ( UNEP, 1987). Poor solid waste handling is threatening the lives of inhabitants of Chennai Corporation. The problem is usually inadequate budget compared to solid waste generation in Chennai Corporation. In this procession, it is very important and timely to look for the possibility of cost sharing by households, and for this we need to analyze the demand side for improved solid waste management. Therefore, this study is designed to generate demand side information, which is vital for the planning process for further development of municipal solid waste management. DATA BASE AND METHODOLOGY The proposed study will be relying on both primary and secondary data sources. The study will depend on secondary source data, the other health data will be collected from Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and Directorate of Health Service, Chennai, Government office record (published or unpublished) and non-government authorities. Primary data will be 9 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAIcollected through questionnaire administration. The sample selection will be executed based on stratified random sampling of household respondents. It can be used as two types of questionnaires and first type of questionnaire focus on the respondents demography, environmental quality, and household willingness to pay, door-to-door collection, available infrastructure, frequency of garbage collection, level of satisfaction of the consumers, improved solid waste management, health and environmental damage.The second type of questionnaire contains the institutional responses i.e. (the Corporation) of annual budget for solid waste maintenance, solid waste collection, transport and disposal during the periods.In addition, data will be collected about the staff employed for each unit, solid waste management regulations, bylaws, waste processing procedures, incineration facility available, waste collection, and transfer, disposal and general policy issues towards municipal solid waste management. Methodology' will be used in the study: Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) Valuation of environment is a disputable, issue among statisticians and economists. While the accounting approach prefers to record only the actual financial transactions, the economic approach prefers to go beyond this, like in the case of health damages, the statisticians would prefer the cost of illness method (actual expenditure or illness), while economists also account for the loss in human capital that calls for disability adjusted life years ( DALY) or statistical value of life (SVOL) or known loss of IQ in children ( eg- due to pollution). Even loss of work or output due to absenteeism because of illness is valued in economic approach. For these, economists would like to consider opportunity cost approaches or an even subjective approach such as the contingent valuation method ( CVM). Contingent Valuation is the subject of an immense literature. CVM will be used generally for the valuation of public goods especially environmental valuation ( Ciriacy- Wantrup, 1947, Davis, 1963, Mitchell and Carson, 1989). The origin of the concept of contingent valuation can be traced to 1947 when Ciriacy- 10 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF CHENNAI"