Characterisation and management of municipal solid waste in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Fast economic growth, escalating population levels and growth in the living standards of communities increases the rate of generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Indian cities. Inappropriate MSW management causes hazards to the inhabitants. The aim of the present study is to determine the characteristics of MSW (both qualitatively and quantitatively) along with other basic information and to generate geographical information system (GIS) maps for Bhopal city. The data have been collected from the joint project conducted by Madhya Pradesh Urban Infrastructure Institution Project and Bhopal Municipal Corporation and analysed to determine the characteristics of MSW. The GIS has been used to digitise the existing ward boundaries along with the roads of Bhopal and to enter the secondary data about the wards. The total quantity of MSW has been reported as 800 t/d, and the average generation rate of MSW has been estimated as 0.41 kg/(c/d). ArcGIS was used to generate maps and to extract efficient information concerning different parameters of the MSW management problem such as generation rate of MSW in different wards and the specific reasons behind the information were analysed.