Analysis of citizen's perception towards segregation and composting

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is one of the most critical issues prevailing in the world today. It has clear implications on public health and the environment. Since MSWM has multiple stakeholders, and citizens/households play a key role, it is important to understand their perceptions and correspondingly design policies and interventions. Accordingly, this paper develops a framework to analyse the citizen perception towards MSWM and applies it to the case of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. The framework uses information both from already existing resources, and questionnaire and interviews. The data are analysed using the SPSS software version 22.0. The results from the analysis and literature survey indicate that composting and segregation are key measures for effective solid waste management. Thus, four models are developed that analyse the response to segregation, composting and the incentives that can be provided to people for effective waste management. The major limitations at the household and community level are found to be their exclusive focus on the lack of facilities from the authorities, thus indicating that their understanding of MSWM is quite limited. It is, therefore, suggested that efforts be made towards training and awareness creation for increasing the participation of citizens in solid waste management (SWM). Further, it is concluded that more focus is needed on measures such as strengthening of already existing decentralized systems and putting out the efforts of municipal bodies.

Automated summary

Municipal solid waste management is a critical issue that affects public health and the environment, with citizen perceptions playing a key role in shaping policies and interventions. Composting and segregation are identified as key measures for effective waste management. Efforts should focus on training and awareness creation to increase citizen participation in waste management.